Partner Article

More permanent jobs in January

Permanent job placements have risen for the first time in four months, new research show.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG report on jobs, shows a rise in permanent appointments during January, while temporary contract staff billings fell slightly for the second month running.

A number of panellists in the study commented on the impact of Agency Work Regulations affecting temporary appointments.

Recruitment consultants reported a slower increase in vacancies over January, and data suggested that engineering and construction workers were the most sought-after, while there was declines in demand for hotel and catering staff.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, commented that the report showed glimmers of hope for the UK.

He said: “This is the first positive indicator for some time that employers are looking to hire staff despite the ongoing weakness of the economy.

“It is particularly encouraging that six out of eight sectors surveyed show growth in demand, including engineering, IT and office professionals.

“The Report on Jobs also follows better than expected services data from the Purchasing Managers’ Index last Friday, which suggests that confidence is growing amongst consumers as well as businesses.”

Permanent staff salaries rose only marginally in January, while hourly rates of pay for temporary and contract staff increased modestly following a slight decline in December.

Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG comments: “Given the continued impasse surrounding the Eurozone and the knock on effect this has on business confidence, it is a welcome surprise to see a modest increase in the number of permanent job placements across the UK.

“Perhaps employers are beginning to accept that they need to have the right people in place to kick start the economy?

“Sadly, though, the number of people hoping to fill these vacancies continues to rise and with unemployment benefit claimants up for the tenth month in succession, the competition to be the right candidate in the right place is tougher than ever.

“At least there are signs within some industries that things are looking up. Amongst the engineering, construction and IT sectors demand for permanent staff has increased since the turn of the year.

“With so much attention being paid to these sectors at the moment, close attention should be paid to see if this is a trend set to continue as the year progresses.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .