Recruitment At Firms Gathers Pace

Thursday 05th November 2009

New research shows firms are beginning to hire staff at a faster pace offering renewed hope for graduates in the jobs market.

A survey of recruitment companies shows that permanent placements are rising at their fastest rate in two years, while temporary appointments have seen their biggest increase in 16 months.

Job vacancies increased in October amid other encouraging signs in the market, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG.

REC chief executive Kevin Green said: "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."

He said the data suggests that unemployment figures are unlikely to hit the predicted three million in 2010.

"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," Mr Green added.

KPMG's Bernard Brown said growing confidence within the private sector, especially in accounting and banking, may have driven the market towards "the tipping point into growth"

"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," he added.