Jobs market 'set to get worse'

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) predicts that the employment situation will get worse for the rest of the year, while medium-term prospects are no better.

Key Points

• The jobs market is facing a "slow, painful contraction"

• Firms scaling back decisions on whether to recruit more staff

• Employment situation predicted to get worse

The private sector is expected to grow at a slower pace in the next three months, though the only glimmer of light is that fewer firms are planning to take jobs abroad and recruit overseas workers, the report suggests.

Confidence in the public sector remains low for the next three months and will get worse next year, says the CIPD after surveying 1,000 employers.

Rise in unemployment inevitable

Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser at the CIPD, says: "The figures point to a slow, painful contraction in the jobs market.

"Many firms appear to be locked in wait-and-see mode, with some companies scaling back on all employment decisions against a backdrop of increasing uncertainty as a result of the eurozone crisis and wider global economic turmoil.

"The good news resulting from this lull in business activity is that fewer employers are looking to relocate abroad or make redundancies.

"The downside is that recruitment intentions are falling, which will make further rises in unemployment therefore seem inevitable given that public sector job losses are outpacing the predictions made by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

"There is no immediate sign of UK labour market conditions improving in the short or medium term."

Tough road to recovery

The report was published ahead of new unemployment figures on Wednesday which will show whether the youth jobless total has gone over a million. A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman says: "We always said that the road to recovery would be tough, there is a long way to go until before we deal with all the economic challenges ahead particularly given the crisis in the eurozone.

"There are jobs out there, with Jobcentre Plus taking on 10,000 vacancies every working day.

"Our new Work Programme is now up and running and will make a big difference in ensuring that people on out-of-work benefits get the right support to get into employment."