The Report on Jobs, published today by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and Deloitte, provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies and employers, as well as data on national newspaper recruitment advertising.

The latest REC/Deloitte Report on Jobs showed that growth of permanent staff placements was the fastest in six months in May. Consultancies said higher placements had been supported by strong demand for staff at employers and fewer instances of candidate shortages. Temporary staff billings also continued to rise, but the rate of expansion was the weakest in twenty-two months, reflecting slower growth of demand for temps. The survey highlighted a further easing of skill shortages, with permanent candidate availability declining at the slowest rate in sixteen months, while temp staff availability was unchanged from one month ago. Consultancies reported that the influx of migrant workers from Eastern Europe following EU expansion was helping to alleviate staff shortages in certain sectors.

Commenting on the latest report, Ashley Unwin, consulting partner at Deloitte said:
"Companies are demonstrating a renewed commitment to define staff roles more clearly and to make every effort to recruit permanent people into them. Whilst the expansion of temporary appointments has slowed, billings for hired help remain high. Companies should be taking advantage of current business confidence and the easing skills shortages to address longer-term staffing needs rather than short-term reactions to rising workloads. Temporary staff may prove an advantageous option in the short term, but when they leave, the knowledge they have built up about the organisation and how to successfully deliver the role leaves with them. In organisations with large numbers of temporary staff, the detrimental impact on productivity in the medium term can be significant."  

Also commenting on the latest report, Gareth Osborne, Managing Director of the REC said:
"We have now seen two years of continued growth in both permanent and temporary placements. This constitutes a significant landmark and highlights the key note that the recruitment industry has played in ensuring that the UK has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe. The substantial increase in permanent recruitment reflects strong business confidence and the increasing reliance on agencies to fill vacancies."

• Permanent placements rose at the fastest pace in six months...
  The latest Report on Jobs survey showed that the upturn in recruitment consultancies' perm and temp business extended to two years in May. The number of people placed in permanent jobs rose at the fastest pace in six months, supported by strong demand for staff at employers and narrowing skill shortages in certain areas.
• but temp billings growth continued to slow
  Growth of temp billings eased to the least marked in twenty-two months in May. Consultancies said the preference of employers to hire permanent over temp staff (as indicated by the divergence in growth trends between the two) reflected robust confidence at companies over longer-term business prospects.
• Gain in actual employment was only slight
  Growth of actual private sector staffing levels faded to only a marginal rate in May, the CIPS/NTC Research Employment Index showed. Weaker employment growth reflected slower hiring in the services and construction sectors and a further decline in manufacturing workforces.
• Demand for staff remained strong
  The Report on Jobs Vacancies Index showed that demand for staff rose for the twenty-third consecutive month in May, at a strong rate. Demand for permanent staff again showed a more marked improvement than for temp staff. Seven categories of permanent employee recorded higher demand than one month ago, with Hotel & Catering workers remaining the most sought-after staff type.
  
  National press recruitment advertising in the UK was down 8.7% from the levels of a year earlier in April. The Press Recruitment Advertising Index signalled that the annual rate of decline was the sharpest in over two years.
• Candidate shortages continued to narrow...
  The overall availability of candidates to fill positions at employers declined at the slowest pace in sixteen months in May. Consultancies mentioned that one factor contributing to easing staff shortages was greater availability of migrant workers from Eastern Europe. In the case of temp staff, candidate availability was unchanged from the situation one month ago.
• easing inflationary pressure on pay
  Average starting salaries awarded to staff placed in permanent jobs rose at the least marked rate in three months in May. Meanwhile, inflation of temporary staff pay eased to a fifteen-month low, in line with slowing growth of demand for temps and stable candidate availability. Nevertheless, robust increases in pay were recorded in both cases, underpinned by strong demand for staff at employers

For further information please contact:

Deloitte
Ali Agmen-Smith
Media & PR
Tel: 020 7303 0514
Email: aagmensmith@deloitte.co.uk

REC
Susanna Loughnane
REC press office
Tel: 01753 672 755

NTC Research (technical/data queries)
Chris Williamson
Tel: 01392 202 361 or
Jack Kennedy
Tel: 01491 418687

 Notes to editors:
The Report on Jobs is a monthly publication produced by NTC Research on behalf of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and Deloitte. The report features original survey data which provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive monthly picture of recruitment, employment and employee earnings trends available.

The Report features original research data from NTC Research, collected via questionnaire from a panel of 400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies. In 2000, some 1,326,000 people were employed in either temporary or contract work through consultancies and over 450,000 people were placed in permanent positions through consultancies. Data for the monthly survey were first collected in October 1997 and are collected at the end of each month, with respondents asked to specify the direction of change in a number of survey variables.

As the leading UK human resources (HR) consultancy, Deloitte recognises the importance of comprehensive and reliable HR and job data. The NTC Report on Jobs provides such authoritative and timely information. This enables HR professionals to better understand, interpret and respond to the movements in the job market to deliver strategic value and bottom line impact as an informed business partner. Deloitte therefore believes Report on Jobs is an essential tool for the management kit-bag to help organisations win the war for talent and meet business objectives in an increasingly competitive and people critical environment.

With the exception of the Press Recruitment Advertising Index, all Index numbers are calculated from the percentages of respondents reporting an improvement, no change or decline. These indices vary between 0 and 100 with reading of exactly 50.0 signalling no change on the previous month. Readings above 50 signal an increase or improvement; readings below 50 signal a decline or deterioration. Reasons given by survey respondents for any changes are analysed to provide insight into the causes of movements in the indices and are also used to adjust for expected seasonal variations.

Recruitment Advertising in National Newspapers data is derived from original survey data collected from media owners by NTC on behalf of the UK Advertising Association together with information from Nielsen Media Research. The data from both NTC and Nielsen Media Research refer only to advertisements in UK national newspapers and therefore tend to reflect trends in the managerial, professional white collar and executive job markets.

Recruitment and Employment Confederation
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The REC is the association for the £26 billion private recruitment and staffing industry in the UK, with over 6,500 recruitment agencies and 8,000 recruitment consultants in membership. There are 1.5 million temporary workers registered with UK agencies, and up to 1 million temps are deployed in industry, commerce and the public services every day.

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In this report references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte & Touche LLP. Deloitte & Touche LLP's Human Capital practice is the largest fully integrated HR consultancy in the UK with more than 700 consultants covering the complete spectrum of strategic human resources. Consulting services include: HR transformation, shared services and outsourcing; international and domestic tax, actuarial and pensions; executive and employee compensation and benefits. Globally, Deloitte &Touche LLP is one of the world's largest HR consulting firms with over 6000 staff in 140 locations.

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NTC Research is one of the world's largest specialist providers of business research information, operating business surveys on behalf of blue chip clients. Current research includes continuous surveys providing original data on economic conditions in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Greece, Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Japan and China. NTC surveys are widely used by governments, businesses and financial markets.

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