In-house recruitment posts in December rose for the seventh month in a row and were up on the same month in 2008, according to the latest Aspen Partners Index.

The index, from Aspen Partners International - the research and benchmarking arm of in-house recruitment and executive search staffing firm Napier Wolf Group, ended 2009 on 68 points, up two points on the same period in 2008. 

The data also shows that the proportion of recruitment jobs of all HR roles advertised hit the highest levels it has seen for 16 months at 14%.

Andrew Mountney, director of Aspen Partners, says: “This backs up the anecdotal evidence that the recruitment market did not slow up towards the end of the year in 2009 and demand continued to grow. 

“The fact that index has finished 2009 higher than it did 2008 and saw December as the first month of the year where the index was higher than the previous year is a key indicator moving into 2010.”