Latest news: Jobs rise for first time in four months

The number of employees securing permanent positions rose for the first time in four months during January, according to a report released by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) today. 08/02/2012

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)  said its measure of permanent staff employment went into positive territory, rising from 48.5 to 51.2 last month, while salaries also increased modestly.

Recruiters reported that engineering and construction staff were the most in demand, with the biggest fall in demand being for hotel and catering workers.

Despite the growth in permanent roles, job vacancies increased at a lower rate in January than the previous months, with demand at its weakest for 27 months.

‘This is the first positive indicator for some time that employers are looking to hire staff despite the ongoing weakness of the economy. It is particularly encouraging that six out of eight sectors surveyed showed growth in demand, including engineering, IT and office professionals,’ said Kevin Green, the REC’s chief executive.

Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG  called the news a ‘welcome surprise’, particularly with the economic issues affecting the Eurozone, but cautioned against over-optimism.

‘Sadly the number of people hoping to fill these vacancies continues to rise and with unemployment benefit claimants up for the tenth month in succession, the competition to be the right candidate in the right place is tougher than ever,’ he said.