UK Job Market Weakens Further, Survey Shows

The UK job market weakened further in August, the Report on Jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG showed Wednesday. Permanent placements declined at the sharpest rate since November 2001 and temp billings fell at a survey-record pace.

Decrease in placement signals fall in demand for staff. Meanwhile, the availability of staff to fill vacancies climbed significantly in August. Citing weak demand for staff, recruitment consultants reported modest rise in wage growth. The Report on Jobs, produced by Markit Economics on behalf of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labor market, based on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies. Alan Nolan, Director at KPMG said, "UK employers are continuing to control payroll costs through redundancies - and by refusing to take advantage of a growing (but increasingly unused) pool of skilled labor. These workers are starting to drift abroad in search of employment - and there is a risk that (when the market turns) the UK will be left behind by a skills shortage." Copyright(c) 2008 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved