UK firms plan to increase hiring in 2017, CBI finds

Two out of five UK companies will recruit more staff in 2017 in spite of concerns about Brexit, according to a survey from the CBI published on Monday.

The annual survey found 41% of the companies polled expected to expand their workforce in the coming year, with 13% predicting their headcount will shrink.

This comes after the CBI's own survey prior to Brexit had warned that the economy could lose 950,000 jobs by 2020 as a result of Brexit, while the Treasury said Brexit would see half a million jobs lost.

However, there remained a fair amount of worry that the UK’s split from the European Union, with a balance of respondents expecting the UK to be a more attractive place to employ people in the next five years reversing from +16% in the 2015 survey to -21%.

“With record employment levels, more people than ever are now in work and the strengths of the UK labour market look set to yield positive results over the course of 2017," said Josh Hardie, CBI deputy-director general.

“Businesses are 100% committed to making the best of Brexit. However, this year’s survey does show a greater sense of concern about the UK’s long-term attractiveness as a place to create jobs."