Recruitment rise set to spark return to City poaching
THE recruitment market continued to improve in April, although the pace slowed after reaching a 12-year peak in March, according to a report published yesterday.
In its job report, recruitment trade body the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and accountants KPMG said both permanent and short-term staffing continued to increase, showing clear signs of economic recovery.
April also saw a rise in permanent staff salaries, while temporary and contract hourly pay rates increased at the fastest pace for just over two years, the REC-KPMG report revealed.
Commenting on the latest survey results, KPMG partner Bernard Brown said: “The latest figures show that the UK jobs market is continuing on the road to recovery albeit at a slower pace than the previous month. While the UK’s gradual emergence from recession is starting to lead to better job prospects in the private sector, many public sector employers have finally woken up to the scale of the financial challenge that is coming their way.”
Meanwhile, a report from recruitment firm Astbury Marsden revealed the number of qualified candidates for each new City job vacancy has dropped from 5.7 in March 2009 to just 2.7 in March this year.
It warned the jump in demand could prompt a return to the aggressive poaching of top talent that was rife in the pre-credit crunch era.
It said: “This time last year, few would have predicted such a dramatic turnaround in the City job market.”