Recruitment consultancies saw a notable drop in the number of people placed in permanent roles during February, amid ongoing market uncertainty and hesitancy to commit to new hires.
The Royal Bank of Scotland's seasonally-adjusted Permanent Placements Index slipped from 54.7 in January to 42.1, signalling a renewed contraction in permanent staff hires.
Meanwhile, the downturn in temporary billings accelerated, with the pace of decrease the fastest in the current five-month period of reduction. At the same time, the supply of both permanent and temporary staff shrank rapidly amid tight labour market conditions and skills shortages.
