Permanent staff appointments dropped at the weakest pace in a year in September. That said, employers were hesitant to take on new workers due to weaker economic conditions and cost concerns, the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs said.

Meanwhile, temp billings dropped at a solid pace that was faster than in August.

Starting pay for permanent workers grew at the slowest pace in the current sequence of rise that began just over four-and-a-half years ago. Temp pay growth also slowed in September.

Data showed that overall vacancies continued to drop but the rate of contraction eased only slightly from August's six-month record.

There was a sharp increase in the availability of workers in September. This was linked to reduced recruitment activity and redundancies. The supply of both permanent and temporary staff increased at softer rates.

Powered by Commodity Insights