Mon, 18 Jun 2012

Research by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has revealed that vacancies for professional-level workers have fallen for the third month in a row.

Vacancies for professional-level permanent staff declined 7% in May, leaving demand 21% lower on a year-on-year basis, according to APSCo’s Monthly Trends report for May.  Demand for professional-level temporary workers, which up to now has proven more resilient to the worsening economic conditions, also fell sharply, down 10% on a year-on-year basis.

One bright spark was temporary vacancies for engineers, which continued to defy the downturn affecting the rest of the professional jobs market, rising 6% on a year-on-year basis.

Ann Swain, chief executive for APSCo, says: “Fears that the resurgence in the jobs market seen at the start of the year might be short-lived appear to have been well founded. Once again, negative economic data and uncertainty over the Eurozone, has pushed employers back into ‘wait and see’ mode.

“The economy has barely moved over the past 18 months which, combined with the on-off nature of the Eurozone crisis, makes it very difficult for employers to commit to hiring decisions. Demand for temporary workers has proven more resilient than demand for permanent candidates, but vacancies are still down on this time last year.”

According to APSCo, the accountancy and finance sector was the only sector in which vacancies for permanent candidates rose during the past month. Demand for permanent candidates was up 2% last month, but vacancies are still 20% lower on a year-on-year basis.