(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 13 apr - In March, permanent staff placement in the UK fell only marginally for the second consecutive month while temp billings decreased modestly, according to the latest report compiled by KPMG and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).

Meanwhile, the downturn in demand for staff also eased, with overall vacancies falling at the softest pace since last May.

Nevertheless, relatively muted demand for staff and sharply rising candidate numbers were linked to slower increases in starting pay. Notably, both starting salaries and temp wages rose only slightly during March.

'The Gulf Conflict provided a headwind to hiring in March, but this did not stop the trend of stabilisation that has defined 2026 so far. The effects of a longer-run crisis are unclear, but the resilience of the jobs market last month was heartening. Permanent placements showed their weakest contraction in three years," said REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry.

'Business prospects for 2026 remain finely balanced, and confidence will be key. Households and businesses are still sitting on cash that might be put to work in the economy if the climate is right, boosting growth and particularly helping struggling consumer-facing sectors like retail and hospitality." Although overall demand for workers continued to weaken at the end of the opening quarter of the year, the rate of reduction eased for the third straight month. While solid, the latest decline in vacancies was the second-slowest seen in nearly a year-and-a-half.

The rate of starting salary inflation continued to ease from January's recent peak in March. Furthermore, the rate of growth was the weakest recorded in five months and only marginal.

UK recruitment consultancies signalled sharper increases in the availability of both permanent and temporary workers in March. Overall, the supply of labour expanded at the quickest rate in 2026 to date. There were frequent reports that redundancies and job scarcity had pushed up candidate numbers. Growth in permanent staff availability continued to.

outpace that seen for temporary job seekers.

(RADIOCOR) 13-04-26 11:48:27 (0225) 5 NNNN