LONDON, July 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- Twenty-six percent adding more workers in second half of 2007, than in 
the first -

CareerBuilder.co.uk, a leading online job site in the United Kingdom,
released the results of its midyear survey, conducted by Harris
Interactive(R), tracking projected hiring and job search activities for the
remainder of 2007. The survey, titled "2007 UK Job Forecast," was conducted
from 1 June to 13 June 2007, within the UK among 500 workers and more than
215 hiring managers.

"Job growth is predicted to continue at a cautiously stable pace through
the end of 2007," said Dave Smith, Managing Director of CareerBuilder.co.uk.
"UK employers will continue to struggle with a shrinking skilled labour force
as Baby Boomers move closer to retirement and the smaller generations of
replacement workers falls under quota. The UK workforce can also expect to
see employers become more creative in their recruitment and retention
efforts, evident in higher salaries, increased training and more flexible
work cultures."

HIRING IN THE SECOND HALF OF 2007

Nearly half (49 per cent) of UK employers surveyed said they increased
their staffs in the last three months. Fueled by a stable economy, this
momentum is expected to continue with 26 per cent of employers indicating
they plan to add a larger number of employees in the second half of 2007
compared to the first. Only one-in-ten employers said they will not be adding
to headcount for the rest of this year.

Temporary Staff Recruitment

More than a third of employers said they hired temporary staff members in
the first half of 2007. Employers plan to continue to add temporary staff
through the end of the year: 25 per cent plan to do it in Q3, 22 per cent in
Q4. Looking to the future, 45 per cent of employers said they were very
likely or somewhat likely to move temporary employees into permanent
positions.

Diversity Recruitment

Understanding the positive influence workforce diversity has on overall
business performance, employers remain committed to expanding the
demographics of their staffs through the end of the year and into next.

When asked what segment of diverse workers they plan to more aggressively
recruit in 2007 and 2008, employers said women (21 per cent), disabled
workers (16 per cent), Asian workers (13 per cent) and gay/lesbian workers (8
per cent).

HIRING AND COMPENSATION IN Q3

Hiring

Recruitment in Q3 is expected to mirror that of Q2 with close to half of
the employers surveyed stating they plan to increase the size of their staffs
while 43 per cent anticipate no change. Five per cent, slightly lower than
last quarter, say they will actually decrease headcount.

One third of employers say they currently have open positions that they
can not find qualified candidates to fill. One-in-ten employers say that
given the shortage of top talent, they are more willing to pay to relocate a
qualified candidate from another city or region. If in fact, a quarter say
they have paid to relocate an employee for an open position within the last
two years. Thirty-four per cent of employers say they would be willing to pay
up to 5000 pounds to relocate a candidate, while 8 per cent would consider
paying more.

Compensation

Employers continue to offer larger salaries to secure top talent.
Forty-five per cent of employers say they plan to increase starting
salaries in the third quarter, down from 59 per cent over the last three
months.

Compared to the same time last year, 15 per cent of employers say they
are experiencing an increase in the number of current staffers who have asked
for a raise in pay. Good news for current employees; 12 per cent of employers
say it is more likely that they will give salary raises in 2007, compared to
2006.

JOB CHANGES

As a way to boost morale and keep top talent from leaving, employers are
implementing increasing robust retention programs, and employee job
satisfaction is reaping the benefits. Fifty-eight per cent of UK employees
say they are generally satisfied with or love their current jobs.

However, 15 per cent of employees say they plan to leave their current
job in the next 6 months. Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) will be leaving
within one year and four-in-ten (39 per cent) will be gone by the middle of
2009.

Satisfaction levels may not be enough, however, to keep employees from
seeking out new opportunities in search of larger salaries and increased
benefits. When asked if they were looking for another job, more than half (53
per cent) of workers said not actively, but would accept another job if one
came available. Sixteen per cent indicated they were actively seeking a new
job.

Changing Careers

The shortage of workers is opening doors for employees to pursue
positions in other careers that might not have been available in the past.
Close to half (48 per cent) of employees say they are interested in changing
careers altogether. In fact, four-in-ten (39 per cent) workers said they have
already changed careers once or twice during their professional life.

While changing careers may seem like a good idea, workers have some
concerns. More than a quarter of employees say the number one reason they
don't change careers is the fact that they will be forced to start over and
take an entry level position. The same number of employees say they won't
pursue new careers because the thought of change is too scary, while a
slightly smaller number say they can't financially afford it.

Female workers, more so than men, may be more open to switching careers.
Forty-five per cent of women say they have already changed careers one or two
times, compared to only 33 per cent of men.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of
CareerBuilder.com among 217 UK employers (employed full-time; not self
employed; with at least some involvement in hiring decisions), and 508 UK
employees (employed full-time; not self employed; with no involvement in
hiring decisions) ages 18 and over within UK between June 1 and June 13,
2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household
income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their
actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also
used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

With a pure probability sample of 217 one could say with a ninety-five
percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 6.9
percentage points. With a pure probability sample of 508 one could say with a
ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling
error of +/- 4.4 percentage points. Sampling error for data from subsamples
is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into
account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and
therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About CareerBuilder.co.uk

CareerBuilder.co.uk is a leading online job site in the United Kingdom
and was visited by more than 1 million unique visitors in May 2007. Owned by
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB), The McClatchy
Company (NYSE: MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder.co.uk
powers the career centers for more than 160 individual UK sites that reach
national, local, industry and niche audiences including Virgin Media and
Lycos. Job seekers visit CareerBuilder.co.uk every month to search for
opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for
automatic e-mail job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career
management. For more information about CareerBuilder products and services,
visit http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk.

Web site: http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk