Conditions in the UK jobs market continued to worsen during June, albeit at a slower pace, according to a new report, although candidate availability continued to rise strongly, which may be good news in terms of recruitment.
According to the Report on Jobs, published by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and audit, tax and advisory insight group KPMG, while permanent placements continued to decrease over the course of the month, it was the weakest drop in over a year.
Furthermore, demand for staff also declined at a slower pace, while a further drop in staff pay was noted.
Commenting on the findings, Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, said the UK jobs market was showing "signs of life".
"Flexible working options will provide a crucial way back into work for a number of jobseekers which is why we must ensure that the new regulations covering agency work do not limit these opportunities," he advised.
This may be particularly important, after the Trade Union Congress recently reported that job losses will continue until autumn 2010 as businesses put any expansion plans on hold.
Rather an overly optimistic headline given the contents of the article. And “candidate availability continued to rise strongly, which may be good news in terms of recruitment.” is rather pushing the limits of trying to make good news out of bad I would think.
The economic indicators are mixed – suggesting that we might be at of close to a turning point or at least levelling out. But any significant increases in employment will lag by months at least.
There are some pockets of recruitment activity out there but it is far too early (I think) for “Recovery in sight for jobs market”