LONDON, March 9 - A monthly snapshot of Britain’s recruitment market pointed to a softening of the recent jobs downturn, with starting salaries for permanent positions falling at the slowest rate since October and the measure of permanent placements rising to its highest reading in nearly three years.
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and accountancy firm KPMG said their gauge of permanent staff placements increased to 49.2 in February from 46.9 in January. Although that represents an improvement, the reading remains just below the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion.
"Despite a marginal fall in hiring last month, the jobs market was showing its strongest signs of improvement in three years, with hiring at its closest point to turning positive," Jon Holt, group chief executive and UK senior partner at KPMG, said.
Other elements of the survey presented a mixed picture:
- The temporary staff hiring index declined to 48.0 from 50.3 in January, indicating a return to contraction for temp roles.
- The availability of candidates for permanent positions rose sharply, suggesting more workers are open to or seeking permanent employment.
- Availability of temporary staff increased at the softest pace seen in more than a year, signaling reduced growth in the temp labour supply.
The survey drew on responses from a panel of roughly 400 recruitment agencies between February 10 and February 23. Taken together, the results indicate the labour market is nearer to stabilising - with hiring measures approaching the expansion threshold - but not yet consistently in growth territory.
While the uptick in the permanent placements gauge and the slower pace of decline in starting salaries point to easing pay pressure for permanent hires, the fall in the temporary hiring index highlights ongoing weakness in demand for short-term staffing. The divergent signals from permanent and temporary segments underline continuing unevenness across the jobs market.
Survey authors cautioned that, despite improvements, most headline gauges remain marginally in contraction, meaning the labour market is showing signs of improvement rather than a clear, sustained upturn.
Data note: The figures reported above are from the REC and KPMG monthly survey of recruitment agencies covering the February 10-23 response window.