Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The specific aims of this study were as follows :
to provide Employment Service economists with data to update estimates of the quantifiable resource and exchequer costs and benefits of the Employment Service's placing activities;
to obtain a comprehensive account of employers' current recruitment practices in order to show whether there were gaps or duplications in the service provided by the Employment Service;
to assess in the wider labour market context the appropriateness of employers' current recruitment activities;
to assess the scope for the Employment Service to influence employers' behaviour with a view to increasing the efficiency of operation of labour markets.
More generally, the research was intended to provide an understanding of employers' use and perception of the various recruitment channels available to them. Such information would help inform decisions about the direction and marketing of the Employment Service in the 1990s. It would also help to show to what extent the public receives value for the money it invests in the service.

Previous similar surveys were conducted in 1982 and 1988, but these are not held at the Data Archive. An earlier study, <i>Survey of Employers Recruitment Practices, 1976-1977</i>, carried out by SCPR on behalf of the Employment Service Agency (then part of the Manpower Services Commission) is available at the Archive under SN:1412.
Main Topics:

The survey covers : recruitment channels; number of engagements; responsibility for selection; conditions of employment (hours, wages, etc.); contact with Jobcentres; attitudes to the Employment Service; awareness of Employment Service activities; equal opportunities.