Adecco’s response to unemployment figures

Adecco’s response to unemployment figures

Today’s labour market statistics show that UK unemployment rose by 49,000 to 2.5million in the three months to the end of November, however the number of people claiming Jobseekers allowance in December fell by 4,100.

Steven Kirkpatrick, Managing Director, Adecco – the UK’s largest recruiter, said:

The large number of staffing cuts anticipated in the public sector are undoubtedly starting to counterbalance some of the improvements we have begun to see in the private sector. As a result, we expect unemployment levels to remain fragile for the early part of this year. However, we have begun to notice several positive trends within the jobs market, particularly among the SME sector, as many businesses look to increase their number of permanent staff for 2011 as they plan more optimistically for growth this year.

We expect to see the demand for temp roles begin to increase again as we head towards the Spring, with events such as the Royal Wedding in April driving an increase in demand, particularly among the hospitality sector and any companies requiring holiday cover for permanent members of staff.