Professional recruitment firms in the UK reported that demand for contractors decreased by 12% in April, year-on-year, while overall vacancy numbers for permanent roles increased by 0.3% in the same period, according to new survey data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies.

APSCo’s data, which focuses on professional recruitment, shows notable variations between the trade association’s core sector groups in terms of hiring activity. The data showed that skills shortages are plaguing some sectors. Permanent vacancies for social work have increased by 36% while 17% fewer jobs were filled during the same period. Meanwhile, permanent roles within IT fell by 6%.

Permanent placements increased by 4% year-on-year while contractor placements also rose by 4% over the same period.

John Nurthen, Executive Director Global Research for Staffing Industry Analysts who compile the report for APSCo says: “The trends in Social Work are particularly worrying. We’ve seen a big spike in permanent vacancies received by professional staffing firms at the same time as their ability to fill these vacancies is declining. This really highlights the pressure the care sector is under to find qualified workers and maintain social care provision across the UK. It’s little wonder that Social Work has become a political hot potato in the run up to the general election. In the absence of a workable funding formula, this is a skills crunch that will not be going away.”

APSCo’s figures also show that median salaries across all professional sectors increased by 1.2%. This figure is characterised by notable fluctuations in terms of sector, with engineering and financial services both recording uplifts (1.9% and 4.8% respectively).

“Despite the current climate of uncertainty, permanent hiring levels continue to remain stable, demonstrating the resilient nature of the recruitment sector,” Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo, said. “In addition our data reveals that average salaries have increased by 1.2% year-on-year which is a further positive sign for the labour market.”

“However with the election just around the corner (8 June 2017), and Brexit on the horizon which threatens to impact the UK’s access to professional talent, the recruitment industry is facing a challenging road ahead,” Swain said. “This is why we are urging the government to undertake a review of the UK labour market to ensure employment legislation remains ‘fit for purpose’ and enables flexible working to flourish in the wake of growing skills and candidate shortages which could be exacerbated in a post Brexit era.”