he number of permanent placements rose at a faster pace in April, but growth of temporary billings slowed, according to the latest Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)/KPMG ‘Report on Jobs’.

The report reveals permanent staff appointments rose at a strong and accelerated rate in April, but remained below February’s 10-month high.

Meanwhile, the pace of expansion of temp/contract staff billings fell to the lowest so far this year.

REC chief executive Kevin Green says: “This month’s ‘Report on Jobs’ shows a clear split developing in the UK labour market. Public sector employment is radically slowing while there is growth in the private sector, confirming that we are now in a two-speed jobs market.”