Demand for permanent and temporary staff is still rising but at a slower rate as the growth in the economy begins to falter.
According to this month’s report on jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the rate of growth was the weakest since February.
Top jobs recruitment advertising in the national press was up, but its rate of growth had also slowed to an eleventh month low of 6 per cent in September. At the lower end of the job market, the number of unfilled vacancies at job centres was at an historic high but there was an accelerated annual rate of growth.
Tightness in the labour market was also evident in the figures for employment growth which reached a 28 month high in October, and the availability of permanent staff which is falling at the fastest rate for nearly three years. Temporary staff are also in short supply.
On the pay side, average salaries for permanent staff were down slightly on previous months but still running at a faster pace than in the past two years. Average hourly pay for temporary staff is now running at the fastest rate since July.
By Kathy Watson
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