The latest REC/KPMG report on jobs for February continues to paint a bright picture of the UK jobs market. It suggests that permanent staff placements rose further in February with the rate of growth in appointments marked and the fastest since last October. Temp billings also rose strongly at their sharpest pace for five months.
Vacancies available for people seeking employment also continued to increase in February and the overall demand for staff grew at the strongest rate in four months, with both permanent and temporary workers seeing faster increases.
Permanent staff starting salaries continue to increase in February with the rate of growth unchanged from the marked pace seen in January. Temporary and contract staff hourly pay rates also rose further with the latest increase stronger than seen one month previously. The availability of staff to fill job vacancies decreased further in February with both permanent and temporary candidate supply down faster than in the previous month.
Commenting on the latest survey results, Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG, said: “Recovery in the job market is gaining real traction, and this should help shore up consumer confidence in the run up to the election. The recovery is being heavily driven by hiring activity by UK plc, while the public sector remains in a semi-stasis ahead of further anticipated cuts later in the year.”