The report, published this morning, reveals growth in temp billings remained steep but softened in June overall, while demand for staff stayed close to May’s 21-month peak, despite both permanent and temporary vacancies rising at slightly weaker rates than in the previous month.    

Meanwhile, the available talent pools for both perm and temp roles continued to shrink markedly in June. While the number of perm candidates fell at a slightly softer pace than in May, the supply of temporary labour deteriorated at its quickest rate in 18 months.

Regionally, Scotland saw the sharpest growth in perm placements, followed by the Midlands. The weakest rate of expansion was recorded in London.
 
Scotland witnessed the strongest upturn in temp billings of all monitored UK regions in June, though all of the remaining regions also noted marked rates of expansion.

Private sector staff demand continued to rise sharply at the end of Q2, despite a slight moderation in demand growth for permanent staff across the private sector. Meanwhile, the number of temp vacancies in the private sector rose at a slightly faster pace.

Demand for public sector staff also increased in June, with the data indicating demand growth was similarly strong for perm and temp roles, with the rate of increase picking up in the former, but slowing for the latter.
 
Agencies registered a broad-based upturn in demand for perm staff during June. Engineering placed first in the rankings, followed by accounting/financial, though demand rose sharply in all of the other monitored job sectors. Hotel & catering beat nursing/medical/care to place in the top spot for demand for temp staff in June, with demand growth sharp for both job categories. The weakest increase in demand was witnessed for executive/professional roles.

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