Growth of staff appointments remained strong in April despite easing.

Key points:
Permanent placements and temp billings continued to rise at marked rates.
Candidate availability rose, but at weaker rate.
Faster increases in permanent salaries and temp pay.

Summary:
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs – published today – provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.

The latest survey findings highlighted further marked increases in both permanent and temporary/contract staff appointments during April, albeit at slower rates compared with March.

Growth of staff appointments eased but remained strong...

Permanent staff placements continued to rise strongly in April, albeit at a slower pace than March’s peak. Similarly, growth of agencies’ short-term staff billings remained substantial despite easing from a thirty-four month high.

...supported by higher vacancies

Higher staff appointments were underpinned by a further expansion of demand for staff during April. Growth of permanent vacancies was only just weaker than February’s thirty-one month high, while temporary/contract staff vacancies increased at the sharpest rate since January 2008.

Weaker rise in candidate availability

The availability of staff to fill job vacancies continued to rise in April. However, the latest increases in both permanent and temporary/contract staff availability were slower than in the previous month.

Pay growth accelerated

Recruitment consultants reported another increase in permanent staff salaries in April. Moreover, the rate of inflation was the sharpest since March 2008. Temporary/contract staff hourly pay rates increased at the fastest pace for just over two years.

Kevin Green, Chief Executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, says:

“May’s Report on Jobs highlights continued growth in both temporary and permanent employment, although the rate of growth has slowed slightly compared to previous months. The first test of the new administration will be to nurture the slowly improving but fragile jobs market.

“The incoming Government must address two immediate priorities – stimulating jobs growth and reducing expenditure without creating a public sector recession through shedding thousands of posts. Private sector employers have used short-time work, sabbaticals and pay freezes as a means of reducing costs whilst retaining high-performing staff. Innovative resourcing strategies will be equally crucial within the public sector.”

Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG comments:
“The latest figures show that the UK jobs market is continuing on the road to recovery albeit at a slower pace than the previous month. While the UK's gradual emergence from recession is starting to lead to better job prospects in the private sector, many public sector employers have finally woken up to the scale of the financial challenge that is coming their way. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the long predicted public sector recession has started to hit the jobs market and therefore the upwards trend we have seen over the last couple of months may come to a halt.”