Rate of demand for staff slows for first time in almost a year

The Report on Jobs, published today by Deloitte and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation shows the demand for staff in January posted the slowest rate of growth in 11 months. While demand for staff continues to grow, it is no longer at the robust rate seen over the past year.

The problem of candidate availability seen in the last year has, as a result, lessened because of the reduced demand for staff. Commenting on demand for staff, Brett Walsh, a consulting partner at Deloitte says: ìThe latest report on jobs shows that while demand for staff continues to grow, the rate is the slowest in almost a year.î

However, Walsh stresses that companies should not take this latest deceleration as a sign to stop recruiting. ìThe job market remains relatively tight especially for those recruiting executive and construction staffî he says.

The report shows that the construction and engineering sectors continued to post robust growth of staffing levels in January. Compared to other sectors, it ranks first for demand of temporary staff and second for permanent placements.

Another sector continuing to show confidence is the accounting and finance sector ñ where it ranks higher for permanent placements than temporary offers. Strong growth of demand for permanent staff often reflects a confidence in the marketplace.

However, the manufacturing sector has been particularly hard-hit over the past two months. It was the only employment sector to post a decline in employment during January.