Recruiters have given a mixed response to claims that the UK is now out of recession, with some parts of the country faring better than others.

A recent survey by the Institute for Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) recorded an increase in optimism from -28.2 to +4.8, the first positive reading in two years.

Jeanette Wastie, managing director at Oxfordshire recruitment firm Armstrong Human Resource, told Recruiter that the UK was not out of the woods just yet. “I think there is certainly some movement going on. August is a particularly difficult month anyway. You can’t gauge what’s happening at the moment.

“Our temporary workforce is building up but whether the recession is over, I am not sure about that.”

Shan Saba, director at Glasgow-based Brightwork Specialist Recruitment, has a more gloomy outlook on trading in Scotland. “The feeling we get from our clients is that it is far from over. Our client base in the surveys we have been conducting is there is more to come and it is not going to get better sooner.”

Sue Mountney, director at Accountancy Recruitment Wales, told Recruiter that manufacturing would dictate the region’s fortunes.

“I would like to agree with it. That would be good news for all of us. I think we’ve got a mixed bag. In South Wales, we have a lot of manufacturing and manufacturing always takes a hit, like automotive manufacturers. Having said that, there are others that are bucking the trend, like food manufacturers. We have one client that has execeeded all expectations in growth.

“There are signs of growth but whether the recession is truly over I don’t know. There are companies that are still working four-day weeks and are looking to cut their workforce. Those redundancies are still happening.”

Spencer Symons, director at UK-wide recruiter Conceptuality, adds: “January to mid April was pretty horrendous. Since then it has been pretty fantastic. We have got more vacancies than we have ever had. We placed more vacancies on contract on perm in IT and engineering in the past three months than we have in any previous year. We are also recruiting consultants for the first time in eight months.”