A survey revealed on Wednesday that British firms reduced hiring of permanent staff through recruitment agencies at the fastest rate in more than two years, a day before the Bank of England announces its latest move to combat inflation pressure.
According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation/KPMG, temporary hiring – which often increases when employers are concerned about the economy – increased at the fastest rate in seven months.
“Firms are hedging their bets,” said REC CEO Neil Carberry. “After a better month in March, we saw permanent hiring fall back quickly in April, and businesses turned to temps to help them get by.” London has had a particularly trying month.”
According to the REC survey, staff availability increased for the second month in a row in April as some companies laid off workers and people sought higher-paying jobs to help them cope with inflation that remained above 10% in March.
Salaries for people starting new jobs increased at the fastest rate in four months, which is likely to be noted by the Bank of England, which is concerned that the recent increase in inflation will become a long-term problem for the British economy.
On Thursday, most investors and economists expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates for the 12th time in a row.
