LONDON (MNI) – March saw modest growth in the number of people
placed in permanent roles, but the rate of job generation slowed
slightly from the nine-month high seen in February, according to the
latest KPMG/REC report on jobs from Markit.

There was evidence of employers switching temporary workers to full
time posts as a result of EU regulations on agency work, with the
permanent placements index coming in at 52.4 in March from 53.2 in
February and the temporary placement index declining to 48.5 from 49.0,
below the 50 expansion/contraction level.

“Overall, the latest Report on Jobs data continue to suggest a
broadly stable trend in the labour market,” Jack Kennedy, economist at
Markit, said.

New posts in the information and technology and computing sectors
were the main source of the growth seen during the month, the report
says.

Overall demand for staff strengthened in March, as the number of
vacancies available to jobseekers rose at the fastest pace since July
2011.

Salaries stagnated in March following a modest decrease in
February, the report shows, with the permanent salaries index coming in
at 50.2, up from February’s 48.7. Survey respondents said that tight
client budgets were one of the factors holding down pay.

“Continued stagnation of salaries underlines the lacklustre market
conditions at present and suggests the real-terms squeeze on household
incomes is set to persist,” Kennedy said.

Commenting on the latest survey results, Ronnie McCombe, partner at
KPMG, said that tensions remain in the UK jobs market.

“Some of the rise in permanent placements appears to stem from
employers simply switching temporary workers to permanent status due to
the higher entitlements that the Agency Worker Regulations have given
them,” he said.

–London newsroom: 4420 7862 7491; email ukeditorial@marketnews.com

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