 |
|
|
|
© Business-Money.com Ltd 2013 |
|
|
|
Permanent placements fell for the first time in six months during June, and at the sharpest rate for just under three years. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG Report on Jobs found that temporary/contract staff billings were down for the seventh month running, with the rate of decline accelerating the fastest since July 2009. Overall demand for staff showed the weakest increase for five months in June. Growth of permanent vacancies eased further, but temp vacancies rose at a fractionally faster pace. Recruitment consultancies indicated higher levels of both permanent and temporary staff availability during June, with the latter recording the stronger growth. Average salaries for people placed in permanent jobs were broadly unchanged in June, while temporary/contract staff hourly pay rates were also stable. London, the Midlands and the north all registered lower placement volumes during the latest survey period, with only the south bucking the trend by posting growth. Lower temp billings were recorded in all monitored English regions with the exception of the Midlands, which posted solid growth. IT and computing, engineering and construction were the most in-demand types of permanent employee during June. For temps, nursing, medical and care staff saw the strongest demand growth. Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, said: “After five months of consecutive growth, the latest recruitment data comes as a sobering reminder that we’re far away from a confident economic situation. Indeed, with both permanent and temporary appointments declining at the sharpest rate in nearly three years, and overall demand for staff showing the weakest growth since the start of 2012, the outlook would appear bleak. “Of course, we must remember that these figures have come on the back of months of uncertainty in the eurozone, the Greek elections and a worsening debt position in southern Europe. This has dented confidence and created nervousness around investment, which in turn has impacted job creation. That said there are some bright spots to be seen, most notably in the south which bucked the trend with a solid growth in permanent placements. “However, a real worry for me is the acceleration in the pace of decline, which suggests this isn’t a mere blip. If this trend were to continue, there’s a very real chance we could hit a three million unemployed figure in the UK in the not-too-distant future.” Other Business Money News
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Business
Money delivers news, reviews, research, comment and
analysis to financial intermediaries, bankers, lenders,
and SME decision makers and
supports these finance
professionals with timely, relevant and accurate market
intelligence and sources of business funding.
