Mike Stevens, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG, said:
“We struggled to find any glimmer of hope in these figures but failed. The UK jobs market is continuing its downward spiral, with placements falling for the 11th month in succession and vacancies down across most sectors.”
The Report on Jobs indicates further declines in new staff demand from employers, with the readings reaching an all time low at 26.7, since record began in 1997.
Permanent positions are falling at record pace, and temporary workforce demand is also falling sharply.
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Mike Stevens comments:
“This latest survey reveals a gloomy picture of the UK labour market. The terrible news from the equity markets and the broader economic front have led to a steep fall in the demand for permanent and temporary jobs across most sectors of the economy and the worst is probably yet to come.”
While Kevin Green, REC Chief Executive, said: “These are the worst figures we have seen since the report began in 1997 with both vacancies and the number of job placements falling at an increasing rate.
“The REC is calling on the Government not to remove the VAT concession in April and push back the deployment of the Agency Workers Directive until the economy has started to recover.”
These gloomy figures are accompanied with record highs in employee availability, as well as a continued reduction in pay rates.
Paul Gray is an entrepreneur and digital publisher who creates online publications focused on solving problems, delivering news, and providing platforms for informed comment and debate. He is associated with HRZone and has built businesses in the HR and professional publishing sector. His work emphasizes creating industry-specific content platforms.
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