On Wednesday, the ONS revealed that unemployment in the UK had fallen for the second consecutive month, but candidates and employers still remain cautious.
In the quarter to June, the number of people unemployed fell to 2.46 million, a drop of 49,000.
However, focus is currently on the job cuts that will affect the public sector and there is continuing concern that the private sector will not be able to provide enough jobs to counteract the redundancies.
Candidates with the specialist skills that were in demand throughout the recession are still required with areas such as IT, pharmaceuticals and senior finance still providing candidates with significant opportunities.
Recruitment in the City is picking up as the banks rebuild and there is increasing demand for both permanent and interim candidates with previous experience in the financial markets.
Kevin Green, from the REC, commented that the latest ONS employment figures mirror reports from recruitment professionals who have been reporting an increase in appointments in the past few months, although the growth rate has begun to ease. He expects the rate of growth to continue decelerating as the public sector cuts start to bite.
The REC does not expect to see unemployment rise significantly, rather the jobs market will remain flat as the private sector absorbs the public sector fallout. Achieving this will be crucial to the country’s continued recovery and the government can help by reducing business taxation and red tape. Green added that the public sector should avoid making knee-jerk cuts in agency staff and support measures to help young jobseekers should be enhanced.
According to the REC’s July Jobs Barometer, nearly a third of employers are expecting to increase the amount of temporary workers they use over the coming 12 months and 29% plan to hire more permanent workers.
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