Labour market deteriorates further but slower pace fuels hope of recovery
THE labour market continued to deteriorate in May, but the pace of decline slowed for a third month and experts said there are signs of recovery.
Permanent placements fell for the fourteenth consecutive month, but at the slowest pace since last July, while temporary billings declined at the weakest rate since September.
But the monthly Report on Jobs, produced by Markit Economics, showed that candidate availability continued to rise strongly, leaving the negotiating power firmly in the hands of employers. As a consequence, the average salary awarded to candidates placed in permanent jobs continued to fall sharply – if at a slower pace – and hourly rates for temporary work also dropped further.
Management consultant KPMG, which commissioned the report along with the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said there was now “some reason” to hope that the UK jobs market has overcome the worst.
“However, it remains difficult to build real optimism of an incipient recovery because most of the world remains in the depth of recession,” it added.
The report comes a day after former Bank of England monetary policy committee member David Blanchflower warned that UK unemployment could continue to rise into 2010, adding 100,000 more jobless numbers per month.