The rate of growth in the number of permanent hires fell in June to its lowest level since August 2009, according to the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs.
The rise in temporary placements fell to an eight-month low, while demand for both permanent and temporary staff also slowed.
The availability of both permanent and contract staff rose in June, contributing to a further weakening of pay growth, with only marginal inflation reported in both sectors.
Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, said that the UK jobs market remained resilient despite jobs growth in permanent placements falling to a 22-month low.
“Recruitment consultants reported an overall increase in the number of people placed into permanent jobs in June,” he said. “This ties in with last month’s official jobs figures and means that we have now seen 23 months of continued expansion in permanent job placements.
“Looking ahead, we are unlikely to see a dramatic upswing in employment until the middle of 2012. However, the slow and steady increase in private sector hiring should mean that workers leaving the public sector have possible job outlets.”
The strongest increase in demand for permanent recruits was in the engineering and construction sector, while IT staff, executive and professional workers and those with accountancy and financial skills were also sought after.
Demand for permanent nursing and care staff remained flat compared to May, while there was a slight decline in the need for blue-collar workers.
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It was a similar story on the temporary side, with high demand for engineering and construction, IT, and hotel and catering professionals.
Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, said: “Employers across all sectors are very cautious about hiring new staff and a quick job market recovery in the UK now looks increasingly uncertain.”
