The Report on Jobs: South contains original data from the survey of recruitment and employment consultants in the South of England (excluding London). The report is designed to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to labour market trends and the data are directly comparable with the UK Report on Jobs.
Permanent placements growth at seven-month high
Recruitment consultancies in the South of England reported that permanent placements increased for the fourth month running in March. Furthermore, the pace of growth was the fastest in seven months. In contrast, agencies’ billings from the employment of temporary/contract staff fell for the third time in the past four months. Moreover, the pace of decline was the fastest since June 2009.
The South of England outperformed the UK average in permanent appointment growth in March, but was the worst-performing English region in terms of temp billings. The strongest increase in permanent placements was recorded in the Midlands, closely followed by the South. The Midlands was the only region to signal a rise in temporary billings during the month.
Availability of permanent staff unchanged since February
The number of candidates available to fill permanent job vacancies in the South of England was unchanged from one month previously in March. That followed a robust increase in February and a decline in January – the first since March 2011. The availability of permanent staff across the UK as a whole rose only marginally in the latest period. Growth of temp availability in the South of England was only modest in the latest survey, easing further from January’s 14-month peak. The latest gain was weaker than the average for 2011, and also slower than the growth shown for the UK as a whole in March.
March figures on staff availability suggested that the increase in candidate supply for permanent positions in the South of England was flat, compared with a marginal increase across the UK as a whole. The availability of temps in the South grew at the slowest pace among all four English regions. The Midlands registered the fastest rise in permanent candidate numbers in March, with London the only region to signal a reduction. Meanwhile, the North posted the strongest improvement in temporary candidate numbers, followed by the Midlands, London and the South respectively.
Permanent salaries rise for third month running
Average starting salaries for newly-placed permanent jobs in the South of England rose for the third month running in March. The rate of growth was muted, and weaker than in February. But it was stronger than the UK-wide trend, where permanent starting salaries were largely flat. Hourly rates of pay for staff in temporary/contract employment were unchanged in March compared with one month previously. This followed a 13-month sequence of wage growth. In contrast, temp rates across the UK as a whole rose for the third month running.
The South recorded the fastest permanent salary growth of all four English regions in March. In contrast, it was the only region not to record temp pay growth. The South, Midlands and the North all posted modest inflation of permanent salaries, while London recorded a fall. However, London posted the fastest increase in temporary staff hourly pay, followed by the North. The South recorded no change in hourly pay rates during the month.
Comments: Phil Cotton, regional chairman for KPMG in the South said:
“This month’s figures told a tale of two sectors. The permanent job sector in the South went from strength to strength, whilst the temporary job sector stuttered, leading to an overall decrease in job opportunities in the region.
“The disparity between the two performances is stark. Whilst candidates in the permanent job market saw an increased number of jobs on offer, those looking for a temporary job faced a very different outlook. In the South the number of temporary placements fell at the fastest pace seen in almost three years and it was the only region in the UK not to see any increase in wages for temporary jobs. Meanwhile the number of people looking for a temporary job increased, putting more pressure on the reduced number of vacancies available.
“Part of this drop in temporary placements could be because the evidence is that some employers are converting temporary workers into permanent staff, due to the effect of Agency Worker Regulations.
“Whilst the strong performance of the permanent sector is hopefully a sign of overall recovery for the region’s businesses, these figures show that the job market in the South remains tough, especially for those seeking temporary work.”
Clive Hutchings, International Sales Director at STR and the REC’s Regional Director for the South East, says: “A marginal increase in permanent placements during March against February was always likely, given the recruitment cycle and a particularly weak February across some sectors. Despite statistics for the whole region showing a fall in temporary billings, our experience as a large agency dealing with the engineering and more technical sectors is that we have seen a marked increase in temp billings. So the pace of decline is certainly not evenly spread across the South, meaning there are still opportunities out there even in this somewhat challenging market.”
