Sharpest rise in permanent jobs for years
Last month witnessed sharpest rise in permanent staff appointments for two years
Wednesday, 04, Nov 2009 09:14
By Richard James.
Last month saw the sharpest rise in permanent staff appointments for two years, new figures show.
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG 'Report on Jobs' found October represented the third consecutive month of growth in employment.
The latest rises were the sharpest in two years for permanent positions and 16 months in temporary recruitment.
The rise in placements was supported by a rise in job vacancies in October. Demand for permanent staff grew for the first time in seventeen months, while demand for temps increased again following September's slight gain.
Researchers found that in both cases nursing and medical workers were the most sought-after type of employee.
During last month, permanent salaries fell only slightly and at the slowest rate in the current 13-month decline, the figures show.
Temporary pay also fell, but again at the slowest rate in a year.
Commenting on the research, Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, says: "These figures show that the UK jobs market is on the road to recovery, with signs of improvement for the third month in a row.
"The demand for permanent recruitment is returning as employers start to hire people at an accelerating rate."
Unemployment currently stands at just under 2.5 million and for some time financial analysts have predicted it could reach and even exceed three million in 2010.
However, Mr Green claims last month's figures may require those estimates to be reconsidered.
"Based on the latest findings, we anticipate that unemployment will not reach three million in 2010 as some predicted," he said.
"This again highlights the benefits of the UK's flexible labour market and a balanced attitude towards employment legislation in terms of keeping people in work."
Bernard Brown, head of business services at KPMG adds: "The UK jobs market looks healthier today than at any time in the last two years which is, of course, encouraging news. Sectors like accounting and banking lead the recovery and we may well have reached the tipping point into growth, driven by returning confidence in the private sector.
"However, we are still to see the impact of the looming public sector recession on the jobs market, which will play out over the first 12 months of a new parliamentary term."