Hiring intentions among employers continue to improve, according to the latest Jobs Outlook published by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

The report shows that:

• one in 10 employers predict  an increase in permanent staff levels over the next quarter, 5% up on the previous month
• 16% anticipate permanent staff levels to rise in the next 12 months compared to 13 per last month
• 5% of employers expect to increase their temporary workforce in the next three months, 72% expect to maintain the same level of agency staff over the next year
• 40% employers said there had been no impact on their workforce due to the recession
• a total of 22% of employers are making staff redundant- 2% down on the previous month
• 3% are now cutting hours or slashing pay in response to the continuation of the recession.
  
  
  REC director of research Roger Tweedy  says: “It is encouraging that employer confidence is slowly but surely starting to manifest itself in terms of hiring intentions. However, it is very early days and a number of  employers are still making redundancies or cutting working hours.  Regular data on how employers are reacting to subtle changes in the jobs market is essential and will help recruiters to plan ahead over the coming months.”