New staff being hired in Britain via recruitment agencies fell to its lowest levels since the pandemic in July, new research found, stoking fears that the market is becoming tougher for the unemployed as a harsh economic backdrop continues to test businesses.
A joint survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG, tracking permanent staff hiring, revealed a drop to 42.4, the lowest figure since June 2020's 34.3.
Temporary staff hiring – often a sign of employer caution – grew at the slowest rate in the last nine months, as an increasing number of workers seek the stability of permanent positions.
Despite the decline in permanent placements, Neil Carberry, CEO of REC, characterised the job market as "fairly robust".
"To some extend this is normalisation as the post-pandemic boom abates, but it is also driven by uncertainty," he said.
While the starting pay for new permanent staff saw a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic levels, the rate of wage growth hit its lowest point since April 2021.
High competition for skilled employees and cost-of-living pressures were cited as driving forces for maintaining elevated starting salaries, Claire Warnes, a partner at KMPG UK, believes.