British employers reduced the number of new permanent staff they hired through recruitment agencies by the most since mid 2020 last month due to concerns about the economic outlook, adding to signs that the market is becoming tougher for job seekers.
A gauge of permanent staff hiring by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and accountants KPMG fell to 42.4, the lowest since the 34.3 in June 2020 when the country was in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey’s measure of temporary staff hiring, which often rises when employers are cautious about the outlook, in July showed the weakest growth in nine months – partly because more workers were looking for the security of permanent roles.
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