Move over Great Resignation, it’s time for the Big Stay

"The Great Resignation" has given way to "The Big Stay”, says the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

Based on a quarterly survey of 2009 employers, the Outlook also cites data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) vacancy survey and analysis on turnover from the Labour Force Survey, with all indicators pointing to lower staff attrition in 2024 and trends returning to pre-pandemic levels.

In short, fewer employers are expecting staff levels to increase in the coming months, continuing the downward trend in workforce growth expectations.

The CIPD is therefore calling on employers to focus on upskilling opportunities to retain and develop their existing workforce as its survey shows that more than half (55%) are looking to maintain their current staff level — the highest level since winter 2016/17.

CIPD Labour Market Economist, James Cockett, said: “Falling staff turnover and vacancies also mean the balance of power in the labour market is moving in the direction of employers and away from workers. Based on the trends in our report, there’s likely to be further falls in both turnover and vacancy levels in 2024.”

Employers will need to look forward and factor in this lower attrition when making decisions around staffing levels and the future of their workforce, he continued.

The report shows that more than one-third (37%) of employers report having hard-to-fill vacancies with these being most prevalent among employers in education (58%).

Overall, 11% of UK employers are looking to decrease staff levels in the next three months with the report showing large disparities between the public and private sectors: twice as many of the former are set to cut their total staff level over this period (19% against 9%).

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