Numbers of permanent and temporary roles advertised during August were down, disappointing expectations there would be an Olympics-led pick-up, according to Adecco Retail. 

Overall vacancies were down nearly 10% on the permanent side. Big moves include retail seeing contract and temporary positions down by 19%. Permanent engineering roles were down 86% and permanent telecoms roles were down 40%. However, banking, insurance and finance saw a 7% general staffing increase for permanent roles.

Steven Kirkpatrick, managing director at Adecco UK, says: “Although there has been a recent dip in the retail sector, the sector is preparing for the start of the Christmas cycle.

“We anticipate an uplift driven by preparation in manufacturing and planning for the busiest time of the retail calendar. We are optimistic of a better quarter in store.”