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LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) – Britain’s jobs market cooled rapidly in May after employers put the brakes on permanent \u200chiring after the Iran war heightened cost pressures and \u200cuncertainty about the economic outlook, an industry survey showed on Monday.<\/p>\n
The monthly Report \u200bon Jobs from accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, a trade body, showed permanent job placements fell at the fastest pace since July 2025. Placements have fallen for 44 months \u200cin a row, the \u2060longest period of contraction since the survey began in 1997.<\/p>\n
“Ongoing global and domestic uncertainty is making businesses \u2060more cautious, and that is increasingly reflected in hiring decisions. While some employers are turning to temporary contracts to retain flexibility, \u200bmany permanent \u200bhiring plans are being delayed \u200bor put on hold,” Jon \u200cHolt, KPMG’s group chief executive, said.<\/p>\n
REC and KPMG also said:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Permanent staff placements fell to 44.1 in May, down sharply from 47.5 in April<\/p>\n
\u2022 Firms ramped up hiring of temporary staff, with the index rising to 52.2 from 50.4, expanding at the \u200cquickest pace since April 2023, as \u200bfirms opted for short-term staff due \u200bto uncertainty about the \u200bIran war<\/p>\n
\u2022 The availability of candidates for permanent \u200cand temporary roles also rose \u200bfaster than in \u200bApril<\/p>\n
\u2022 Vacancies dropped at the sharpest pace since February, driven by a sharper fall in vacancies for permanent roles<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u200bThe survey was based \u200con responses from a panel of around 400 recruitment \u200bagencies between May 12 and May 22<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Suban \u200bAbdulla; editing by David Milliken)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n