Job advertising in the national
press is plummeting as employers cut their recruitment budgets.
A survey by the Recruitment and
Employment Confederation released yesterday shows that the volume of private
sector press advertising shrank in October to less than half of the level it
was at a year ago. It
is falling at the fastest rate for at least 19 years.
In the public sector, job
advertising was only down 6 per cent on the previous year, with teachers and
nurses in short supply.
Demand fell most sharply for permanent
staff in IT. It also shrank in engineering, construction, hotels and catering.
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Despite staff availability rising at
its fastest rate since 1997, skills shortages remain, particularly among
secretaries, chefs, accountants and receptionists.
The
research is based on the performance of 400 recruitment consultants.
