Although the amount of new jobs is still rising, the increase in October was the weakest for 14 months.
The latest Report on Jobs from the REC and KPMG showed that permanent staff placements and temporary staff billings have both slowed down. Recruitment agencies reported a slight rise in the number of candidates for permanent vacancies for the first time in four months whilst contract/temporary staff availability rose at the fastest level for seven months.
There is now increasing concern that the private sector will not be able to create enough new jobs to soak up the public sector fall out. Kevin Green from the REC said these latest figures confirm that the ability of the private sector to compensate for the planned public sector redundancies is in the balance.
In March the REC’s index was sitting at a peak of 65, but the latest Report showed a permanent recruitment reading of 52.6 and just 51.6 for temps and contractors. A reading over 50 indicates an increase in job placements over the previous month but the most recent rise shows that employer confidence is still shaky.
Demand for permanent staff in the IT sector has risen only slightly over the course of the last year. In October 2009, the REC index showed 52.2 whilst the latest Report on Jobs showed 54.2. The news for temporary and contract IT staff is not so good. Demand has fallen from 54.5 a year ago to 49.6. Last year IT and computing jobs were most in demand according to the REC’s index.
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