Jobs growth weakest in two years

A new report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has been published, which draws on survey data from recruitment agencies, to provide a comprehensive guide to the UK labour market. This report has found that the appointment of staff to both permanent and temporary positions has slowed at its weakest rate in more than two years.

The key points of the report are:

•  Slowest increases in permanent placements and temporary billings since August 2009
•  Weakest rise in job vacancies for almost two years
•  Pay pressures remain muted
•  Stronger improvement in candidate availability

Bernard Brown, partner at KPMG has warned that these findings suggest the jobs market could end up “contracting” as a result of such slow growth.

In assessing the reasons for this, Mr Brown said: “The employment agencies surveyed reported that the slower expansion of placements was linked to a lack of confidence among clients over the economic outlook”.

Commenting on the latest data, Kevin Green, REC’s Chief Executive, said:

“Employers are being very cautious about hiring at the moment. This has been exacerbated by weak consumer confidence which leads to people staying in their current role rather than changing jobs. The private sector is still producing new jobs but not in the quantity needed to offset the job losses in the public sector.

In response to these findings Mr Green said, “It’s vital that we look at ways to boost these numbers, particularly for young people who continue to be disproportionately affected by unemployment.”

Website: Telegraph

Source:

Amanda Frewin

Research & Project Support