A report published by the Manchester Evening News suggests that heavy traffic, road works and congestion are proving to be a recruitment barrier in Manchester.
Created by Charlotte Cox from the MEN, the article said that congestion is so bad, people are turning down £50,000 jobs in Manchester to avoid the commute.
The M.E.N has run a number of stories, including this latest story, on the seemingly never-ending cycle of city centre roadworks and their toll on happiness, health and even the football after the United team arrived late at two Old Trafford matches due to traffic.
Such is the concern over traffic congestion in UK cities that the chambers of commerce in Greater Manchester, Bristol and London have written to the Treasury ahead of the budget warning they are ‘dragging their feet’ in tackling congestion, to the detriment of the economy.
Mayor Andy Burnham has spoken of plans to tackle congestion, including more flexible working hours as reported earlier today on our news pages – HERE
While Stockport has had its fair share of roadworks recently, most notably along St Mary’s Way, the A34 and while construction was taking place on the new A6 Manchester Airport Relief Road, Stockport recruiters believe that Stockport will be the winner in the recruitment stakes in the loner term.
In response to the MEN’s article, Caroline Patten, Director at Stockport based Grassroots Recruitment commented:
“An interesting read and mirrors our experience too.
“All candidates seem to have multiple job offers these days and more and more are opting for the ones with the least commute, regardless of salary. Definitely working in Stockport’s favour for candidate attraction and clearly this is what investors are starting to realise too.”
Cathy Bates, managing director at Essential Personnel in Stockport agrees:
“At the higher end of the jobs market, there are big skills shortages. Candidates will usually have multiple job offers to choose from – in our experience, it’s usually the job closest to home that wins out. Work-life balance increasingly trumps salary or career opportunities for senior candidates.“
Read the full MEN article HERE
