The number of people placed in permanent jobs by recruitment consultancies rose for the 17th straight month in October and marked a faster pace of jobs growth than the month before.
But a sharp drop in the availability of staff on a temporary basis pushed up a measure of pay rates for temporary and contract staff to its highest level in more than six years, economic research organisation NTC Research said in its October report on jobs.
Average pay deals for permanent positions were also up, but the growth rate was slightly slower than in September.
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“The pressure on organisations to find suitably-qualified staff has intensified owing to staff availability dropping at the fastest rate for nearly seven years,” said Brett Walsh, European head of human capital consulting at Deloitte.
“Difficulties lie ahead if new recruits demand salaries outside the pay bands for existing staff,” he said.
