There were glimmers of a spring revival in the UK jobs market on Wednesday with permanent job placements clocking up the fastest growth for almost a year and vacancies also rising, according to a survey.
But news that permanent placements rose for the second month running and at the fastest pace for nine months was tempered by evidence that the market for temporary jobs deteriorated, according to the monthly REC/KPMG report on jobs.
Agencies' temporary and contract staff billings fell slightly for the third month running.
Also there were signs that those gaining employment were settling for lower pay with salaries falling for the first time since the end of the recession in 2009.
"Put alongside recent news from the Office for National Statistics which suggested that the last unemployment figures represented the smallest rise in almost a year and there may be signs that the market is displaying early signs of recovery," said Bernard Brown, head of business services at survey publishers KPMG.
"Yet cautious optimism must remain the watchwords because the picture is not as rosy for temporary positions."
Demand for staff rose at the fastest pace in four months during February, the report said.
Nearly all sectors increased their demand for permanent staff in February, with IT and computing posting the fast growth followed by engineering and construction.
The only sector where demand for permanent staff fell was hotel and catering, according to the report, which uses survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.
Despite the rise in vacancies, most economists still expect unemployment to rise further this year from 8.4%, already the highest since 1995.
Against that gloomy outlook, KPMG said there was a "real prospect of continued downward pressure" on wages this year.
"Given the ongoing squeeze many are feeling as costs go up on the high street, it appears that the price of permanent employment is lower take-home pay, but this is an inevitable consequence of a competitive, yet still fractious, market," said Brown.
guardian.co.uk
But news that permanent placements rose for the second month running and at the fastest pace for nine months was tempered by evidence that the market for temporary jobs deteriorated, according to the monthly REC/KPMG report on jobs.
Agencies' temporary and contract staff billings fell slightly for the third month running.
Also there were signs that those gaining employment were settling for lower pay with salaries falling for the first time since the end of the recession in 2009.
"Put alongside recent news from the Office for National Statistics which suggested that the last unemployment figures represented the smallest rise in almost a year and there may be signs that the market is displaying early signs of recovery," said Bernard Brown, head of business services at survey publishers KPMG.
"Yet cautious optimism must remain the watchwords because the picture is not as rosy for temporary positions."
Demand for staff rose at the fastest pace in four months during February, the report said.
Nearly all sectors increased their demand for permanent staff in February, with IT and computing posting the fast growth followed by engineering and construction.
The only sector where demand for permanent staff fell was hotel and catering, according to the report, which uses survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.
Despite the rise in vacancies, most economists still expect unemployment to rise further this year from 8.4%, already the highest since 1995.
Against that gloomy outlook, KPMG said there was a "real prospect of continued downward pressure" on wages this year.
"Given the ongoing squeeze many are feeling as costs go up on the high street, it appears that the price of permanent employment is lower take-home pay, but this is an inevitable consequence of a competitive, yet still fractious, market," said Brown.
guardian.co.uk
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