The latest report shows that the majority of private companies in the U.K. are not interested in hiring public sector workers that are laid off as part of deficit-reducing austerity measures, according to Financial Times. On Monday, a survey of 500 companies from Barclays Corporate and Financial Times showed that more than half of respondents said that laid off government workers will not be equipped to join their staff, although more than half also expect to create jobs in the coming year.
The data comes as a blow to officials that have been looking to the private sector to help blunt the impact of public spending cuts, and about 75% of respondents do not anticipate that private job growth will keep pace with public layoffs. The data showed that 57% of companies expect to create jobs, but about 80% of those would want to see sales growth first. The most controversial figure is that 57% of companies are not interested in hiring former public sector workers, with 52% saying that the group in question would not be fit for the work.