Reported by freshbusinessthinking.com, the CIPD’s quarterly Labour Market Outlook, conducted by YouGov, delivers a ‘net employment balance’, calculated by the difference between the proportion of employers intending to increase and decrease staffing levels in the first quarter 2012.

Overall, this balance has risen from +6 from -8 since the Winter 2011/12 quarter, which could be good news for people looking for jobs. London, Manchester, Birmingham and countless cities are included in the survey, making the UK a huge winner when it comes to employers looking to recruit.

Furthermore, the report found that recruitment was boosted even further thanks to a fall in redundancy intentions in both the private and public sector.

Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser at the CIPD, commented on the figures to stockmarketwire.com: “The jobs market is desperately seeking good news, so this latest set of positive figures is very welcome.”

However, Davies has urged businesses to be careful if they attempt to send UK workers offshore.

“Employers need to weigh up the wider impacts when considering offshoring decisions, such as the potential adverse impact on customer service or employer brand,” he added.

According to broadcastnow.co.uk, ITV, Sky News and the BBC greeted the decision to allow cameras into British courts by saying that it will allow the public to see that justice is done – although there will still be restrictions on what can be shown.

The presiding judge will continue to control what can be shared publicly, but people in broadcast jobs can expect to be able to show parts of the process such as the judge’s comments.

A statement from the trio of broadcasters read: “Following years of campaigning, we welcome this historic reform that marks an important step for democracy and open justice. The presence of cameras in our courtrooms will lead to greater public engagement and understanding of our legal system.”

The decision to allow cameras into British courtrooms was included in the Queen’s speech on Wednesday (May 9th) as one of the legislative changes that the current coalition government intends to bring in over the coming year, explained guardian.co.uk.

For the Queen’s speech, the House of Lords, House of Commons, judiciary and the sovereign come together.

According to this month’s Recruitment and Employment Federation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs, higher placements in jobs were supported by a ‘further solid increase in demand for staff’.

However, this growth was at a slower rate than the previous two months – but growth is there, cites recruiter.co.uk, which is good news for those looking for permanent jobs in London, for example.

In addition, permanent salaries remained level for the month, only posting a minuscule fall, while hourly rates of pay for temporary/contract workers were reported to be ’up modestly’.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, commented on the figures: “This month’s figures show growth in permanent jobs but at the slowest level since January. This highlights the fragile nature of the UK jobs market at present. Employer and consumer confidence are increasing and we anticipate more private sector jobs being created in the second half of the year.

“Temporary staffing is declining as employers take on more permanent staff and come to terms with the Agency Workers Regulations, however, temps will continue to be a valuable resource for many businesses,” he added.

A survey of 2,500 employees carried out by workspace provider, Regus, revealed that the majority feel there has been an improvement in the balance between their professional and personal life, freshbusinessthinking.com reports. This is despite the fact that many people are working longer hours.

The Work-Life Balance Index registered a 20 per cent increase in 2012 compared with just two years ago. Apparently, two thirds of workers are enjoying their job more, perhaps because 58 per cent said they had sufficient time for family and/or leisure interests.

Those with jobs in London may be among those who reported that their employers had actively sought ways to reduce their commute. 36 per cent of respondents said that their company recognised the stress and strain that can be caused by a long, crowded journey to work.

69 per cent of those polled also said that they got more done at work which, Regus says, implies a correlation between productivity and a healthy work life balance. The improvements undoubtedly coincide also with renewed business optimism and a decrease in job instability.

Use of flexible working practices – allowing employees to define their own working hours and location – has also contributed significantly to improving work-life balance levels, reports dofonline.com. In turn, these practices are now valued by employers as key for talent acquisition and retention.

Commenting, Dr Clare Kelliher of the Cranford School of Management said: “The results from this report lend weight to the idea that happier staff are also more productive. At a time when all businesses are striving for growth, this serves as a reminder that employers should review their policies and practices to ensure that staff have the flexibility to achieve balance in their lives.”

Freelance creative Tom Christmann explained in a column for adage.com that there are several lessons to learn from such staff, including the importance of blocking out distractions while they are working and always having a list of goals for the future.

One point that people looking for jobs in London could learn from is the way freelancers have to become their own “PR machine”, since a lot of workers would benefit from being capable of singing their own praises more effectively.

Mr Christmann added: “Freelancers are always clear on what problem they are being paid to solve. If they’re not clear on that, they can’t get the work done. And then they won’t get paid, or at least won’t get called back. Understanding the problem is crucial.”

Part of the challenge of being a freelancer is the need to impress a client over a short-term contract, which is a concept that all job-seekers can relate to. Writing for econsultancy.com, director of product development at Econsultancy Chris Lake suggested punctuality is a crucial part of this.

He made this point in reference to both meetings and communications such as emails, saying that no one likes to be kept waiting.

That’s according to the London Entrepreneurial Exchange’s (LEE) Business Confidence Survey, which suggests that 80 per cent of respondents will be increasing their staff roster in the next half a year, which could prove to be good news to those looking for London jobs.

That 80 per cent figure is a third more than those who said they would increase their employee numbers six months ago, cites smallbusiness.co.uk, allaying fears that the double dip recession will have an impact on London-based firms.

Furthermore, 66 per cent will be advertising permanent hires as spending on staff is tipped to be three times as important as spending on technology.

Shalini Khemka, CEO of LEE, commented on the figures: “Despite continuing concerns about a flat economy and rising unemployment, entrepreneurial small and medium sized British businesses are keen to expand and have shown a marked pick up in the desire to recruit.

“Spending on staff will be the biggest cost for medium sized businesses in the coming year, however investing in technology is increasingly becoming one of the most important costs for those firms which are keen to ramp up their growth,” he added.

There is positive news for those searching for jobs in London and beyond, as the latest figures show that employers confidence has grown during January – March 2012.

As such, many of them intend to make new hires, 72 per cent of respondents said they were searching specifically for permanent employees within the next quarter. Nearly as many, 69 per cent, said they would be hiring permanent employees over the next year.  

It’s good news for those looking for temporary assignments, also. 34 per cent of employers confirmed they would be increasing the number of agency workers in their organisation in the next three months. 29 per cent would be doing so over the course of the next year. 55 per cent of those polled said they would maintain their current agency worker numbers.

Commenting on the latest survey, REC director of research, Roger Tweedy, told onrec.co.uk that the findings were extremely positive, but warned caution: “Our measure of employer confidence has reached a record high point.

“But the growth in confidence was less than last month so it will be important to track whether increasing employer confidence is a continuing trend or whether it’s peaking.”

That’s according to recruitment software firm Bullhorn, who suggests that a firm’s followers on Twitter are three times more likely to apply for a job than a LinkedIn connection, reports castleford.com.au.

The firm’s 2012 Social Activity Recruiting Report highlighted how recruiters in the UK, US, Canada and Australia use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as recruitment tools, cites smartupsmart.com.au.

It found that while Twitter appears to be the most popular, a healthy 21 per cent of firms utilise all three networks to attract potential employees. However, Facebook was shown to be the least effective tool, despite the platform’s huge user base.

As a result, jobseekers may want to check the Twitter account of recruitment agencies to see if, for example, they are tweeting about jobs in London.

Ben Fuller, sales director at Bullhorn, commented on the uptake of social media by recruiters: “While Twitter provides the best return on investment for recruiters, LinkedIn continues to generate the volume of job interest and activity, driving three times more job views than Twitter and six times more views than Facebook.

“Facebook is the least effective channel for sourcing candidates, despite being the largest social networking site in the world,” he added.

Cited by Personneltoday.com, the research also found that tax, maternity/paternity leave, liability/national insurance and absence due to sickness worry employers too.

As the minimum wage, working time relegations and discrimination also frighten businesses hoping to increase their head count, the results may encourage the government to provide further support to the UK’s employers. After all, giving them the guidance and help they need to deal with any perceived barriers could well mean more jobs in London or other areas open up.

The concerns were shared in the government’s call for evidence document, a project that seeks to help the UK understand why changes had to be made to some employment laws. Vince Cable said it would “shed some light on the desire for a change to the rules”, according to Osborneclarke.com - but so far, responses to the document are scarce – so it is not yet known if it has.

The government has also made moves to cut the regulation worrying employers, such as pledging to half the health and safety laws in place, in addition to freezing the minimum wage given to younger people.

This was undertaken in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), as well as the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES). The organisations found that work experience can really help students in their transition from a learning to a working environment.

In fact, Huffingtonpost.co.uk revealed that some 68 per cent of teachers questioned during the research stage said that they find pupils to be more motivated upon completion of a work experience placement. Two-thirds of pupils surveyed confirmed that undertaking this experience helped them to make decisions about their careers.

However ensuring these positive results continue can only be achieved from ongoing collaboration between the workplace and the educational system, according to the organisations behind the research. This could mean added support from learning institutions – pushing students in the right direction for their dream broadcast jobs or teaching roles – in addition to employers offering up the placements required.

James Wates, the UKCES commissioner, agreed. Speaking to Peoplemanagement.co.uk, he said: “There are few more pressing issues around employability than the need to close the chasm between school and the world of work.

“If the UK is to stay competitive, then the talent currently in our classrooms needs to make the transition to the workplace,” Wates added.