Abacus Daily Debt News

Unemployed helped by SMEs, survey shows

Unemployed people are to be thrown a lifeline by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, many of which have admitted plans to create jobs over the next few months.

This is according to a survey conducted by the Santander Banking Group, which revealed that 17 per cent of SMEs intend to increase their employee numbers prior to Christmas.

And firms with a turnover of between £1 million and £5 million are the most likely to initiate recruitment drives, with 27 per cent stating they plan to hire new staff.

Britons struggling with debt management issues as a result of unemployment and redundancies may be buoyed by this news.

Commenting on the statistics, a spokesman from the Federation of Small Businesses said that it is a positive development, although he added that the body "would like to see the establishment of dedicated small business managers inside job centres", as well as closer ties between skills boards, Businesslink and Jobcentre Plus.

By Sarah Adie