Sharp slide in the UK jobs market

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A slide in the UK economy is being blamed for a sharp decline in the number of permanent jobs available - the worst since November 2001.

According to research by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, it was also the fifth consecutive month of falls.

The weakening in the jobs market meant that the number of vacancies decreased, with a record drop in demand for temps.

Declining demand for staff has led to only marginal salary increases.

'Cutting costs'

The only area of employment where demand for staff increased was in the nursing and medical profession, which recorded its strongest growth for eight months.

Employers in the hotel and catering trade needed less staff with a record drop in the number of jobs.

"The slide in the UK economy continues to hit the jobs market hard, with yet another sharp drop in recruitment," said Alan Nolan, director at KPMG.

"UK employers are continuing to control payroll costs through redundancies - and by refusing to take advantage of a growing, but increasingly unused, pool of skilled labour."