The number of employers reporting redundancies rose in July with the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s (REC) Jobs Barometer falling three points in July following five consecutive months of improvement.

However, the number of employers intending to recruit temporary and permanent staff over the next three months remains stable.

Almost one in three (31%) of employers expect to increase use of temporary workers in the next 12 months and 29% anticipate further permanent hires over the same period.

Roger Tweedy, the REC’s director of research, says:  “The results show a growing public sector ‘drag’ effect on overall labour market optimism. We know that certain sectors within the private sector are currently buoyant and expect growth to continue throughout 2010 and it is likely that this polarising effect will continue for a while as different parts of the economy emerge from the recession at different rates.”