Latest news: Staff recruitment grows

Demand for staff in August grew but only at a ‘moderate pace’, according to the latest Report on Jobs study by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). 12/09/2011

The report found that vacancies in August increased by the same level as in July for both permanent and temporary positions – the slowest growth in nine months.

August also saw the weakest rise in permanent salaries for 22 months, although temporary pay rates quickened to a three-month high.

Kevin Green, the REC’s chief executive said the report showed how ‘robust’ and ‘resilient’ the UK jobs market is. ‘In the face of a slowing economy, falling consumer confidence and high inflation, private sector employers continue to hire staff. The numbers are lower than three months ago but placements continued to rise in August, which was the 25th consecutive month of growth.’

The UK job market has performed better than many expected considering the mass of school leavers and the drastic cuts to much of the public sector.

Having said this, Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG suggested it was somewhat in the ‘summer doldrums’, with early signs pointing to the situation of 2008.

‘Permanent and temporary staff appointments rose again in August but only at the same relatively low rates seen last month. And, whilst it’s good that we are still seeing some growth in appointments, whether this can continue in the face of a decline in the rate of growth of vacancies remains to be seen,’ added Bernard.