Member Article

Growth of permanent placements eases to slowest since May 2013 - KPMG

Despite remaining strong overall, growth of demand for permanent staff in the North eased to the slowest in a year-and-a-half and remained below the UK average in December, according to KPMG’s UK Report On Jobs.

Conversely, temporary vacancies rose at a faster pace during the month, with the respective index for the North posting above the UK-wide trend.

The number of staff placed in permanent positions in the North continued to rise in December, extending the current sequence of expansion to 20 months.

However, the rate of growth eased to the weakest in more than a year-and-a-half and was the least marked among the monitored English regions. Growth of permanent placements across the UK as a whole accelerated from November’s 18-month low in December.

The latest rise in staff appointments was the twenty-seventh in as many months and robust overall. The pace of expansion was quickest in the South, followed by the Midlands.

In contrast, recruitment consultants in the North reported the fastest growth of temp billings among all four regions surveyed in December. Moreover, the latest increase was the twenty-ninth in as many months and the quickest since September.

Temp billings across the UK also rose at a faster pace in December, marking a 20-month period of expansion. The rate of growth picked up in all four monitored regions apart from the Midlands.

December data highlighted a slower reduction in permanent staff availability in the North of England. The rate of decline was the weakest in eight months. Nonetheless, almost one-third of survey respondents signalled a contraction in permanent staff supply in comparison with the previous month.

The supply of permanent staff in the UK fell for the twentieth consecutive month in December, albeit at the slowest pace since April. London was the only region to register a faster contraction, while the least pronounced reduction was observed in the North for the second month in a row.

Continuing the trend observed throughout the past 15 months, temp supply in the North deteriorated in December. That said, the pace of reduction was little-changed since November and slower than the average observed for 2014. Recruitment consultants across the UK as a whole signalled a sharper decline in temp supply in December.

Temp pay growth was evident in the North for the twenty-eighth month running in December. The rate of increase accelerated further during the month to the sharpest since August.

Chris Hearld, Northern Chairman and Office Senior Partner at KPMG in Leeds, comments:

“It was a December of two halves for the Northern jobs market. Growth in permanent roles weakened and lagged the rest of the UK, while festive demand triggered a dramatic upswing in temporary roles as organisations searched for help in an effort to fulfil customer orders.

“With potential festive anomalies behind us, the next couple of months should indicate whether Northern businesses have made recruitment resolutions that stand to benefit the economy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .