How demand for staff continued to deteriorate in June

The latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs showed permanent vacancies fell for the fourth month in a row, and although the pace of contraction was sharper than the UK average, it eased to the slowest since March.

Meanwhile, demand for temporary workers fell at a softer rate than at the national level, albeit still markedly overall.

Euan West, office senior partner for KPMG in Leeds, said: “Despite an inevitable further drop in hiring activity for permanent and temporary staff, it is encouraging to see they both fell at softer rates than seen in April and May.

“However, the air of uncertainty around the Covid-19 pandemic will linger – and rebuilding confidence in the region’s jobs market will take time.

“All eyes will be on the Chancellor’s fiscal statement today, with job seekers hoping to see a focus on skills and retraining, while business will welcome further support packages so they can start to ramp up as lockdown eases and recovery gets underway.”

The report, which is compiled by IHS Markit, is based on responses to questionnaires sent to around 100 recruitment and employment consultancies in the North of England.

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: “While there are signs that the worst declines are behind us, today’s figures show that it will be a while yet before we see job placements growing month on month. That’s no surprise, as businesses are focusing on bringing furloughed staff back to work, or making redundancies where they cannot be avoided.

“Recruiters will be key to helping those who lose their roles find new work – there are always vacancies out there for jobseekers, though they are at a lower level than normal right now.”

He added: “This is now a jobs crisis.

“Rishi Sunak should use today’s Summer Statement to boost job creation, with a cut in National Insurance designed to retain jobs and boost hiring.”