Permanent placements rose at their weakest rate for 10 months, according to the latest Report on Jobs from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and KPMG.

The data indicates the slowest increase in permanent appointments since October last year, while temporary staff billings growth hit a 10-month low.

Permanent candidate availability fell at its sharpest rate since November 2007, though there was a slight rise in temporary staff availability.

Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, says: “The UK job market slowdown continued in August with permanent job appointments rising at the weakest rate for 10 months. A look at the sectors also reveals the growing disparity between the public and private sector. Whereas demand for staff is growing in the private sector, many public sector organisations have started redundancy programmes. If they are still recruiting they are doing so at a reduced pace.

“In the months ahead we will see a substantial reduction in public sector headcount as the cuts begin to bite. That is the painful but inevitable consequence of the coalition government’s determination to tackle the UK’s massive structural deficit. The big question is whether the private sector can create new jobs in sufficient numbers and quickly enough to offset the downturn in the public sector.”