Major report benchmarks UK employers' response to recession in 2009 against employers in the recession of nearly two decades ago.                                          

Skills shortages are set to return more strongly than ever before, posing a greater threat to recovery than after the recession of the early 1990s, according to a major new study. 

The report 'Meeting the People Challenge: How are employers responding to recession today, compared to two decades ago?' has been produced by global recruitment specialist Reed in support of the independent campaign Keep Britain Working. Responses from 655 organisations across all sizes, sectors and regions of the UK have been benchmarked against a Reed study carried out in Spring 1992, in the depths of recession, allowing direct comparisons to be made.

The study finds that the unprecedented flexibility that the UK workforce has shown bodes well for a swift initial resurgence when the upturn begins. However, long-term recovery is threatened by the re-emerging spectre of an even greater skills shortage. It states that re-skilling and up-skilling the workforce needs to become a key national priority.

You can find the full report here