Partner Article

Demand for staff grows

The amount of permanent job placements grew in February, and at the strongest pace since last May, research reveals.

The lastest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs, shows that overall demand for staff rose at the fastest pace in four months during February.

A sharper increase in permanent vacancies offset the slower growth of temporary vacancies, with IT & Computing shown to be the most in-demand permanent staff type, while Engineering and Construction was most in-demand for temporary vacancies.

Recruitment consultants reported a drop in permanent staff salaries during February for the first time since October 2009, while in contrast temporary staff pay rates increased, at the fastest pace in four months.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, says: “The labour market is clearly improving as this month’s Report on Jobs shows the strongest performance on permanent placements for nine months.

“Demand for staff also rose at the fastest pace for four months, so jobseekers should take heart that there are vacancies out there. Slowly, private sector employers are becoming more confident as the gloom, caused by a slowing economy late last year and fears about the Eurozone, recedes.

“The temporary market has shown a slight decline since January and is essentially flat at present.

“However, agency work continues to provide an important outlet for employers and jobseekers with over a million temporary workers placed on assignments in any given week.”

Mr Green went on to say that he anticipated a continued worsening of unemployment over the next few months, before a “bounce back” towards the end of this year and on into early 2013.

Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG comments: “The latest report raises hopes of a Spring revival in the jobs market with a second successive monthly rise in the number of people securing permanent roles and the data also indicating that February saw the rate of growth accelerating to a nine-month high.

“Put alongside recent news from the ONS which suggested that the last unemployment figures represented the smallest rise in almost a year and there may be signs that the market is displaying early signs of recovery.

“Yet cautious optimism must remain the watchwords because the picture is not as rosy for temporary positions. Of course, the reduction in contract placements may yet be related to the Agency Workers regulations, but without buoyancy in both the permanent and temporary markets it is still too early to unfurl the bunting.

“For those who have found new employment, we are also seeing rates for wages reducing for the first time since 2009, with a real prospect of continued downward pressure as the year goes on.

“Given the ongoing squeeze many are feeling as costs go up on the high street, it appears that the price of permanent employment is lower take-home pay, but this is an inevitable consequence of a competitive, yet still fractious, market.”

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