Green shoots in UK jobs market

Permanent appointments on the up for first time since last March, according to REC

The UK jobs market is showing tentative signs of improvement for the first time in 17 months.

According to recruitment body the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), permanent appointments increased marginally in August, representing the first rise since March 2008.

Likewise, temporary billings rose for the first time since July 2008.

Although pay rates continued to drop, the declines in both permanent salaries and temporary wages were the slowest in 10 months, REC said.

REC's chief executive Kevin Green, said: “For the first time in 17 months, this month's report shows signs that the UK jobs market is improving.

“It seems that employers are becoming more confident in their hiring decisions with an increase in permanent recruitment and growth in temporary placements for the first time in over a year.”

Bernard Brown, partner and head of Business Services at KPMG, said it is too early to speculate whether the figures signalled the end of the recession.

“One important factor to watch over the coming months will be how the public sector is coping with the financial and economic crisis,” he said. “Given that employment costs are a substantial element of public sector spending, you would expect significant pressure on those costs going forward. This is likely to have a significant impact on the UK jobs market.”