At the same time, temp billings increased sharply, with firms often choosing to recruit short-term staff as greater uncertainty rose over growth of Covid-19 cases, recruitment consultancies surveyed said.

Candidate availability increased along with rises in redundancies. The increased labour supply and reduced client budgets contributed to steeper falls in starting pay for both permanent and temporary workers, the report said.

The report is compiled by IHS Markit from questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies.

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