Employment Falls
08 / Jul / 2010
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation said its permanent placements index fell to a five-month low of 60.7 in June from 61.3 in May. The index has been declining since March when it hit a 13-year high of 65.2, but still remains strong by historic standards. Britain's two-month-old coalition government has made cutting the budget deficit a top priority, and has embarked on the toughest public spending squeeze in more than 50 years. Many government departments face losing more than a quarter of their funding over the next five years. The Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent fiscal watchdog, estimates that up to 600,000 public sector employees could lose their jobs in the budget cuts. The pace of temporary staffing billings also slowed in June, with the index slipping to a seven-month low of 57.0 from 59.2 in May. Index levels above 50 indicate net hiring among the panel of 400 recruitment companies polled each month.