Employment boosted through August

There were increases in the number of permanent and temporary staff appointments last month, according to a new survey.

This is the first growth in permanent appointments for 17 months, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG report revealed.

There was also a slower rate of decline in the pay for both permanent and temporary staff, according to the poll.

Declines in the demand for staff also slowed, with the latest drop in vacancies the lowest it has been in over a year.

Despite this being 'really positive news' for the UK jobs market, it is too early to speculate 'whether this signals the end of the recession', KPMG partner and head of business services Bernard Brown claims.

He explained: 'One important factor to watch over the coming months will be how the public sector is coping with the financial and economic crisis.

'Given that employment costs are a substantial element of public sector spending, you would expect significant pressure on those costs going forward.'

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research has estimated that gross domestic product rose during the three months to August, reinforcing its view that the recession ended in May.