Fewer than a third of UK firms are taking on new staff and redundancies are expected to increase form 22% to 27% this year, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The gloomy survey of 1,200 UK firms showed a "big dip" in work prospects compared with 37% of firms taking on staff earlier this year and 58% when the survey began in 2004.

The number of employers planning job losses increased between the second and third quarters of this year.

John Philpott, chief economist at the CIPD, said the cracks are appearing in the jobs market. "Even if we avoid the scale of jobs fallout suffered in previous downturns, the era of the candidate's recruitment market is already over, with people in work becoming increasingly anxious that their P45 might soon be on its way.
"With pay pressure still subdued, mounting job insecurity is being compounded by a significant squeeze on workers' real incomes."
Average pay rises are expected to rise by 3.7% in the coming months, in line with recent settlements, the study found.


What do you think? Send us your views