Although the UK jobs market appears to be on the road to recovery, more pain could be on the way as the impact of the forthcoming public sector squeeze makes itself felt over the next six to 12 months.
These are the findings of the February’s ‘Report on Jobs’, which is produced by financial information services company Markit on behalf of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG.
Kevin Green, the REC’s chief executive, said: “The UK jobs market is continuing to improve. Increasing employer confidence has resulted in the best performance we’ve seen in permanent employment for two and a half years.”
The study found that vacancies for both permanent and temporary/contract staff continued to increase for the fifth month running – and at the fastest pace since September 2007. While the number of candidates available for work also grew, it was at a slower rate.
Permanent jobs placements also grew at their fastest pace since July 2007, although temp billings rose at a slower rate. Pay increases for permanent employees also accelerated to a twenty-month high, while hourly rates for temporary/contract staff rose marginally for the second month running.
High-end sectors such as IT showed particularly strong growth in demand, but there was also significant interest in boosting admin and back-office support. Other markets such as engineering and construction, which were particularly hit by the recession, were also deemed to be on the rebound.
But Bernard Brown, head of business services and a partner at KPMG, warned of signs that recruitment in the public sector could drop away quickly due to expected spending cuts after the forthcoming general election.
“The impact of the inevitable public sector recession on the jobs market has yet to be felt and will be played out over the next six to 12 months,” he said.
