Northern recruiters place more staff

THE number of staff placed in permanent positions in the North rose in April, marking a 12-month sequence of growth.

Despite easing from March’s peak, the rate of expansion was sharp and outpaced the national average, according to the latest Report on Jobs: North, compiled by research group Markit for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG.

For the eleventh month running, permanent staff appointments rose in all four English regions during April.

Rates of growth accelerated in the South, London and the Midlands, with the latter overtaking the North as the best performer in April.

As has been observed in each month since August 2012, temporary/contract staff billings in the North increased in April. The pace of expansion softened to the weakest in five months, but was nonetheless marked and slightly above the UK-wide trend.

REC’s chief executive Kevin Green said: “Recruiters continue to place more people in work as the jobs market accelerates. However the jobs market could be jeopardised with thousands of employers not able to find the skills and talent they need to meet increasing demand.

“The number of candidates available to fill both temporary and permanent jobs is falling at its fastest rate in a decade. In response to this employers are bumping up starting salaries to entice workers they need to join them. This dearth of skilled workers means that many organisations will need to improve their candidate experience and also look overseas to find people. The government must do more to support businesses by ensuring that the visa process does not act as a barrier to growth.”