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Employer confidence dips in October

Nov 03 2010

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation staff placements index fell to 52.6 in October

Demand for staff has increased at its weakest rate for a year, raising questions about the private sector’s capacity to compensate for public sector cuts.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) staff placements index fell to 52.6 in October from 54.6 in September. A level above 50 indicates growth.

The numbers point to a 14-month low in the job market’s rate of expansion, with growth in billings for temporary staff also slipping to 51.6 from 52.8.

Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, says that public sector organisations are starting redundancy programmes and imposing hiring freezes.

‘At the moment the private sector is not creating new jobs in sufficient numbers to offset this public sector downturn,’ adds Brown.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, says: ‘These figures show that employer confidence remains fragile and that the double dip in employment we forecast last month remains a possibility.’

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