Vacancies continue to rise at marked pace, Candidate availability falls further

1. UK Labour Market 8th
October 2013
The most up-to-date source of monthly UK labour market data and analysis
Report on Jobs
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
Temp/Contract Billings
Permanent Placements
Increasing rate of decline
Increasing rate of growth
50 = no change on previous month
Staff Appointments via Recruitment Consultancies
Staff appointments continue to rise
strongly in September
Commenting on the latest survey results, Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business
Services at KPMG, said:
“With another month of data showcasing a strong rise in the number of appointments and
job offers on the table, it seems that business is warming to calls for investment from Mark
Carney. Improved market conditions, higher activity levels amongst clients and generally
stronger levels of confidence amongst employers are certainly one of the major factors
underpinning the latest rise in placements.
“Only last week the Bank of England argued that recovery will only be sustainable over the
long term if regions beyond London grow strongly. Against this backdrop it is also welcome
news to see permanent placements increase across the whole country. The North is
showing strongest growth, with the Midlands driving a rise in temporary placements. It’s
a sign that local economies are picking up and gives hope that economic recovery is not
dependent on one area or sector.
“Yet it remains worrying that employees are clearly still not sharing employers’ growing faith
in recovery. Demand for staff may be up, but the number of individuals putting themselves on
the market has dropped for the fifth consecutive month. Perhaps the pay on offer has to rise
to encourage staff to ‘make the move’. If it doesn’t we could be about to witness a growing
gap between what the employers need and what employees are prepared to do.”
Markit
Henley on Thames
Oxon RG9 1HG, UK
Tel: +44 1491 461000
Fax: +44 1491 461001
email: economics@markit.com
Copies of the report are available
on annual subscription from
Markit. For subscription details
please contact:
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The Report on Jobs is a monthly
publication produced by Markit and
sponsored by the Recruitment and
Employment Confederation and KPMG
LLP.
The report features original survey
data which provide the most up-to-
date monthly picture of recruitment,
employment, staff availability and
employee earnings trends available.
1 Executive summary
2 Appointments
3 Vacancies
4 Sectoral demand
5 Staff availability
6 Pay pressures
7 Special feature
Key points from the September survey:
Marked increases in both permanent placements and temp billings
Permanent salary inflation sharpest since February 2008
Vacancies continue to rise at marked pace
Candidate availability falls further
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2. Report on Jobs | Recruitment Industry Survey
The Report on Jobs is unique in providing the most
comprehensive guide to the UK labour market,
drawing on original survey data provided by
recruitment consultancies and employers to provide
the first indication each month of labour market
trends.
The main findings for September are:
Strong growth of staff appointments
maintained...
Recruitment consultants signalled a further substantial rise in
permanent staff placements during September. The pace of
expansion was only slightly slower than July’s 40-month high.
Temp billings similarly increased at a sharp rate, with growth
close to the 15-year high seen in August.
...supported by marked expansion
of vacancies
Demand for staff continued to increase strongly in September.
Growth of job vacancies was at a similar pace to that recorded
in August, which was the fastest for over six years.
Candidate availability continues to
fall...
September data indicated a further reduction in the availability
of candidates. Solid rates of decline were indicated for both
permanent and temporary staff availability.
...contributing to further increase in
pay rates
Permanent salary inflation quickened slightly in September,
reaching its sharpest rate since February 2008. Temp pay
inflation also accelerated, with the latest rise only marginally
slower than July’s five-and-a-half year high.
1 Executive summary
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
Staff Appointments
Temp/Contract Billings
Permanent Placements
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
50 = no change on previous month 50=no change on previous month
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
Staff Availability and Earnings Growth
Skill shortages
Average permanent salaries (LHS)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
50 = no change on previous month 50 = no change on previous month (inverted)
inverted - RHS)
(Availability of staff
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Temp/Contract Vacancies
Permanent Vacancies
50 = no change on previous month
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75 Increasing rate of growth
Increasing rate of decline
Demand for staff
All Intellectual Property Rights owned by Markit Economics Limited

3. Report on Jobs | Recruitment Industry Survey
Recruitment consultancies report on the number of
people placed in permanent jobs each month, and
their revenues (billings) received from placing people
in temporary or contract positions at employers.
Latest data from the survey of recruitment consultancies
pointed to further strong growth of staff appointments during
September.
Marked increase in permanent
placements
The number of people placed into permanent jobs continued to
rise in September, extending the current period of expansion to
12 months. The rate of growth was marked, having accelerated
since August to a pace only slightly below July’s 40-month high.
Improved market conditions, higher activity levels at clients and
generally stronger confidence among employers were reported
to have underpinned the latest rise in placements.
Permanent placements increased across all four monitored
English regions, with the North continuing to register the
sharpest growth.
Temp billings growth eases slightly
from 15-year high
September data signalled a further increase in agencies’
temporary/contract staff billings. Although moderating from the
15-year high posted in August, the rate of growth remained
strong.
The Midlands saw the fastest increase in temp billings
during September, while the South posted the slowest rise.
An index reading above 50 signals a higher number of
placements/billings than the previous month. Readings below
50 signal a decline compared with the previous month.
2 Staff appointments
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
Temp/Contract Billings
Permanent Placements
Increasing rate of decline
Increasing rate of growth
50 = no change on previous month
Staff Appointments via Recruitment Consultancies
2013 Apr 38.9 36.7 24.4 14.5 57.2 52.5
May 39.2 30.7 30.1 9.1 54.6 53.4
Jun 47.9 31.5 20.6 27.2 63.6 57.6
Jul 48.9 32.0 19.1 29.8 64.9 63.3
Aug 37.8 38.6 23.6 14.2 57.1 61.3
Sep 49.0 33.5 17.4 31.6 65.8 62.2
Higher Same Lower Net Index S.Adj.
% % % +/- 50 = no chg Index
Permanent Staff Placements
Q. Please compare the number of staff placed in permanent
positions with the number one month ago.
2013 Apr 26.1 42.7 31.3 -5.2 47.4 48.7
May 34.8 42.7 22.5 12.2 56.1 52.6
Jun 41.3 39.1 19.6 21.7 60.8 56.4
Jul 46.6 36.8 16.6 30.0 65.0 61.5
Aug 44.4 40.0 15.6 28.8 64.4 62.9
Sep 43.1 43.1 13.8 29.4 64.7 61.7
Higher Same Lower Net Index S.Adj.
% % % +/- 50 = no chg Index
Temporary/Contract Staff Billings
Q. Please compare your billings received from the
employment of temporary and contract staff with the
situation one month ago.

4. Report on Jobs | Recruitment Industry Survey
3 Vacancies
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Recruitment consultants are asked to specify
whether the demand for staff from employers has
changed on the previous month, thereby providing
an indicator of the number of job vacancies. The
summary indexes shown in this page are derived
from the detailed sector data shown on page 5.
Further strong rise in vacancies
Demand for staff continued to increase at a marked pace
in September. The Report on Jobs Vacancies Index posted
63.5 in September, only slightly below the reading of 63.7 in
August, which was the highest for over six years.
Both permanent and temporary staff registered sharp rates
of demand growth in the latest survey period.
Public & private sector vacancies
Private sector demand for staff continued to rise at a
substantial pace in September. In the case of permanent
workers, the latest increase was the fastest since data were
first available in December 2011.
In the public sector, demand for temporary staff improved
at the sharpest rate in the series history, but permanent
workers saw a slight fall in demand for their services.
Other vacancy indicators
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that job
vacancies were up 11.1% on an annual basis in the three
months to August.
Latest available data signalled that internet-based
recruitment spending rose by 2.3% in the first quarter of 2013.
That was down from a pace of 3.1% in the final quarter of
2012.
The Job Vacancies Index monitors the overall demand for
staff at recruitment consultancies. An index reading above
50 signals a higher number of vacancies than the previous
month. Readings below 50 signal a decline compared with the
previous month.
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Temp/Contract Vacancies
Permanent Vacancies
50 = no change on previous month
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
Increasing rate of growth
Increasing rate of decline
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
Job Vacancies
50 = no change on previous month
Vacancy Index
Increasing rate of growth
Increasing rate of decline
Job Vacancy Indicators
May’13 Jun Jul Aug Sep
Job Vacancy Index (recruitment industry survey)
50 = no change on previous month
Other key vacancy data
Annual % change
Sources: Job centre vacancies provided by Office for National Statistics
Internet recruitment spending provided by WARC.com
Total 54.9 59.2 61.1 63.7 63.5
Permanent Staff 54.9 59.3 61.0 63.6 63.6
Temporary Staff 55.6 58.0 61.6 64.0 62.8
Public: perm 46.7 52.8 47.6 47.4 49.1
Public: temp 50.8 50.0 53.8 51.6 58.2
Private: perm 64.9 66.6 67.1 65.7 68.7
Private: temp 60.2 63.9 65.5 66.3 65.5
Job centre vacancies 12.0 12.9 12.6 11.1 n/a
Internet recruitment 2.3 -- -- -- --
Public & private sector vacancies (not seasonally adjusted)

5. Report on Jobs | Recruitment Industry Survey
Recruitment consultancies are requested to compare
the demand for staff according to sector with the
situation one month ago.
Permanent Staff
Demand rose for all nine categories of permanent staff
monitored by the survey in September. The strongest rate
of growth was signalled for Construction workers, closely
followed by Engineering staff. Hotel & Catering posted the
slowest rise.
4 Demand for staff by sector
50 = no change on previous month
Demand for staff
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 Secretarial & Clerical
Perm
Tem p
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 Accounting & Financial
Tem p
Perm
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 Executive & Professional
Perm
Tem p
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 IT & Computing
Tem p
Perm
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Tem p
Blue Collar
Perm
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Nursing/Medical/Care
Tem p
Perm
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 Hotel & Catering
Tem p
Perm
Engineering; Construction
This year (Last year)
Rank Sep'13 Rank Sep'12
This year (Last year)
Rank Sep'13 Rank Sep'12
*Non-seasonally adjusted data. Prior to April 2013
Engineering/Construction was reported as a single category.
Data are presented in the form of diffusion indices whereby
a reading of 50 indicates no change on the previous month.
Readings above 50 signal stronger demand than a month
ago. Readings below 50 signal weaker demand than a month
ago.
Engineering* 1 66.6 n/a n/a
Blue Collar 2 65.9 (2) (54.2)
Nursing/Medical/Care 3 65.8 (1) (62.5)
Construction* 4 62.2 n/a n/a
IT & Computing 5 62.1 (4) (51.9)
Secretarial/Clerical 6 61.8 (3) (52.8)
Accounting/Financial 7 58.6 (7) (48.4)
Executive/Professional 8 54.2 (6) (48.7)
Hotel & Catering 9 54.0 (5) (49.9)
Construction* 1 70.3 n/a n/a
Engineering* 2 69.2 n/a n/a
IT & Computing 3 67.3 (2) (55.0)
Executive/Professional 4 63.9 (5) (52.4)
Accounting/Financial 5 63.7 (3) (53.8)
Secretarial/Clerical 6 61.9 (4) (52.9)
Nursing/Medical/Care 7 61.3 (1) (60.7)
Blue Collar 8 56.5 (6) (50.0)
Hotel & Catering 9 56.1 (7) (47.7)
Temporary/contract staff
Growth of demand was broad-based across all nine
temporary/contract staff sectors in the latest survey period.
Engineering workers were the most sought-after. Mirroring
the trend seen for permanent staff, the weakest growth was
signalled for Hotel & Catering employees.
46
50
54
58
62
66
70
74
78
Engineering Construction
Perm Tem p

6. Report on Jobs | Recruitment Industry Survey
Recruitment consultants are asked to report whether
availability of permanent and temporary staff has
changed on the previous month. An overall indicator
of staff availability is also calculated.
Availability of permanent staff
The availability of candidates to fill permanent job roles
deteriorated for a fifth consecutive month in September. The
rate of decline was little-changed from the solid pace recorded
in August.
All four English regions posted lower permanent staff
availability during September. The sharpest reduction was
signalled in London.
Availability of temp/contract staff
Temporary/contract staff availability continued to fall in
September. The rate of deterioration was broadly unchanged
from that signalled in the previous two months.
Temp availability fell across London, the Midlands and the
South, but was unchanged in the North.
5 Staff availability
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Temp Availability Permanent Availability
50 = no change on previous month
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90Improving availability
Deteriorating availability
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Staff Availability
50 = no change on previous month
Staff Availability Index
Improving availability
Deteriorating availability
2013 Apr 19.5 61.1 19.4 0.1 50.0 50.1
May 16.3 64.1 19.6 -3.3 48.4 49.6
Jun 15.5 61.0 23.6 -8.1 45.9 48.3
Jul 13.0 56.3 30.7 -17.6 41.2 44.2
Aug 13.9 58.3 27.8 -13.9 43.0 45.7
Sep 19.0 51.6 29.4 -10.5 44.8 45.3
Key permanent staff skills reported in short supply:*
Accountancy/Financial: Accountancy, Banking, Finance,
Insurance. Blue Collar: Semi-skilled operators, Skilled
trades. Construction: Project managers, Quantity surveyors.
Engineering: Automotive, Design engineers, Electrical,
General engineering, Geotechnical, Heavy engineering,
Mechanical, Rail, Revit technicians, Structural, Subsea.
Executive/Professional: Business development, HR,
Marketing. Hotels/Catering: Chefs, Front of house. IT/
Computing: Business analysts, Cloud, Developers, Digital
marketing, GWT, Java, .Net, PHP. Nursing/Medical/Care:
Clinical diagnostics. Secretarial/Clerical: Legal secretaries,
Office support. Other: Customer service, Languages, Sales.
Key temp skills reported in short supply:*
Accountancy/Financial: Accountancy. Blue Collar: CNC,
HGV drivers, Joiners, Labourers, LGV drivers, Skilled trades,
Welding. Engineering: Engineers, Technicians. Hotels/
Catering: Chefs. IT/Computing: Business analysts, Java.
Nursing/Medical/Care: RGNs. Secretarial/Clerical: Legal
secretaries, Reception. Other: Sales.
Availability of permanent staff
Q. Is the availability of candidates for permanent vacancies
better, the same or worse than one month ago?
Better Same Worse Net Index S.Adj.
% % % +/- Index
2013 Apr 16.8 65.5 17.7 -1.0 49.5 51.4
May 15.6 66.8 17.6 -2.0 49.0 51.0
Jun 23.4 59.7 17.0 6.4 53.2 53.1
Jul 17.9 55.4 26.6 -8.7 45.7 47.2
Aug 16.2 58.0 25.8 -9.6 45.2 46.9
Sep 18.4 55.1 26.5 -8.0 46.0 47.0
Availability of temporary/contract staff
Q. Is the availability of candidates for temporary vacancies
better, the same or worse than one month ago?
Better Same Worse Net Index S.Adj.
% % % +/- Index
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*consultants are invited to specify any areas in which they have encountered skill
shortages during the latest month

7. Report on Jobs | Recruitment Industry Survey
The recruitment industry survey tracks both the
average salaries awarded to people placed in
permanent jobs each month, as well as average
hourly rates of pay for temp/contract staff.
Permanent salaries
Average starting salaries awarded to successful candidates
placed in permanent jobs increased further in September.
Quickening marginally since August, the rate of inflation was
the fastest since February 2008. Panellists linked salary
growth to a combination of higher demand for staff, shortages
of skilled candidates and increased numbers of higher-
specification jobs being filled.
Permanent salary inflation was sharpest in the South, while
the Midlands posted the slowest rise.
Temp/contract pay rates
Hourly rates of pay for staff in temporary/contract employment
continued to increase in September, which a number of
panellists attributed to skill shortages. The latest rise was
slightly stronger than that recorded in August and only
marginally below July’s five-and-a-half year high.
In contrast to the trend in permanent salaries, the
fastest rise in temp pay was signalled by Midlands-based
consultancies.
6 Pay pressures
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
Temp/Contract Hourly Pay Rates
Permanent Salaries
Increasing rate of decline
Increasing rate of growth
50 = no change on previous month
Pay Pressures
2013 Mar 10.7 84.1 5.2 5.5 52.7 52.7
Apr 10.1 84.8 5.1 4.9 52.5 52.1
May 13.1 80.4 6.5 6.6 53.3 51.8
Jun 14.4 79.6 6.0 8.4 54.2 53.2
Jul 14.9 82.2 2.9 12.0 56.0 54.0
Aug 16.2 80.6 3.2 13.0 56.5 56.5
Sep 17.6 79.7 2.7 14.9 57.5 56.7
Higher Same Lower Net Index S.Adj.
% % % +/- Index
Permanent Salaries
Q.Areaverage salaries awarded tostaffplaced in permanent
positions higher, the same or lower than one month ago?
2013 Mar 8.8 89.3 1.9 6.9 53.5 52.1
Apr 7.7 86.8 5.5 2.2 51.1 51.6
May 8.6 87.1 4.4 4.2 52.1 52.0
Jun 11.9 83.7 4.4 7.5 53.7 53.9
Jul 15.7 81.3 2.9 12.8 56.4 56.8
Aug 12.1 85.0 2.8 9.3 54.7 55.3
Sep 14.3 82.5 3.3 11.0 55.5 56.0
Higher Same Lower Net Index S.Adj.
% % % +/- Index
Temporary/Contract Pay Rates
Q. Are average hourly pay rates for temporary/contract staff
higher, the same or lower than one month ago?
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
-6
-3
0
3
6
9
Public sector
Private sector
Annual percent change
Yr/yr % chg in average weekly earnings (3mma)
2010 2011 2012 Apr'13 May Jun Jul
Whole economy 2.3 2.4 1.5 1.5 1.8 2.2 1.1
Private sector 2.0 2.5 1.5 1.6 2.1 2.8 1.4
Public sector 3.3 2.5 1.6 1.2 1.3 0.9 0.5
Services 2.3 2.8 1.4 1.5 1.8 2.2 1.1
Manufacturing 4.0 1.6 1.8 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.1
Construction 0.3 0.8 0.8 -0.3 -0.4 0.9 -0.8
UK average weekly earnings
Data from the Office for National Statistics signalled
that annual growth of employee earnings (including
bonuses) eased to 1.1% in the three months to July,
the slowest since the three months to March.

8. Report on Jobs | Recruitment Industry Survey
7 Feature UK regional claimant count
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from 22 offices across the UK with over 12,000
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no client services.
The REC is the professional body representing
the UK’s £24.6 billion private recruitment and
staffingindustrywithmorethan8,000recruitment
agencies and 6,000 recruitment consultants in membership. There are
more than 1 million temporary workers registered with UK agencies
who are deployed in industry, commerce and the public services every
day.
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business surveys and economic indices,
including the Purchasing Managers’ Index®
(PMI®
) series, which is
now available for 32 countries and key regions including the Eurozone.
For more information e-mail economics@markit.com or call +44
1491 461000.
Recruitment Industry Survey
The monthly survey features original research data collected via
questionnaire by Markit from a panel of 400 UK recruitment and
employment consultancies. In 2010/11, some 1,049,333 people were
employed in either temporary or contract work through consultancies
and 604,193 people were placed in permanent positions through
consultancies. Monthly survey data were first collected in October
1997 and are collected in the end of each month, with respondents
asked to specify the direction of change in a number of survey variables.
Markit do not revise underlying survey data after first publication, but
seasonal adjustment factors may be revised from time to time as
appropriate which will affect the seasonally adjusted data series.
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UK claimant count drops to four-and-a-half year low
as all regions see a fall
The number of people in the UK claiming jobseeker’s
allowance continued to fall in August, taking the current
sequence of decline to ten months. At 1,401,800, the claimant
count was down 32,600 since July and 168,100 lower than in
August 2012. That took the number of claimants to its lowest
level since February 2009. Declines in the claimant count
were seen in all regions compared with one month previously.
Consequently, the UK claimant count rate fell for the second
month running to 4.2%, its lowest in four-and-a-half years. The
rate fell in the vast majority of regions, with the only exception
being Northern Ireland, where it remained unchanged.
The South East recorded the lowest claimant count rate at
2.5%, followed by the South West at 2.7%. The highest rate
was registered in Northern Ireland at 6.9%, slightly ahead of
the North East at 6.8%.
All Intellectual Property Rights owned by Markit Economics Limited
South East 117 2.5 (1)
South West 75 2.7 (2)
East of England 100 3.4 (3)
London 201 3.8 (4)
East Midlands 95 4.1 (5)
Scotland 126 4.5 (6)
NW & Merseyside 176 4.9 (7)
Wales 72 4.9 (7)
West Midlands 147 5.2 (9)
Yorks & Humberside 148 5.5 (10)
North East 84 6.8 (11)
Northern Ireland 62 6.9 (12)
United Kingdom 1402 4.2
Claimant count (Aug’13)
Region ‘000s Rate (%)* Rank
Source: Department for Work & Pensions and National Statistics.
* As a percentage of Claimant Count + Workforce Jobs.