The latest JobsOutlook survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) shows that before the referendum, 45% of employers believed economic conditions to be ‘getting better’, against 21% who believed conditions were deteriorating.

The survey of 600 employers also finds two-thirds adopting what could be a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude to hiring, with 21% planning to hire but 66% intending to keep their permanent employee headcount static over the short term (next three months).

Furthermore, 79% of UK businesses report operating with either ‘little’ or ‘no’ capacity to take on more work without creating more jobs but employers anticipate difficulties finding appropriately skilled candidates for jobs in in engineering, construction, hospitality, and health and social care.

“Whilst it is too early to draw conclusions about the impact the EU referendum result will have on hiring activity, it is encouraging to see how strong the UK jobs market was in the months leading up to the vote,” REC Chief Executive Kevin Green said.

“Data from the ONS shows that employment grew by 624,000 in the last year and we have our best ever employment rate of 74.4%. This supports the idea that the jobs market will be able to withstand any disruption to the economic outlook.”

“At the same time, there are still lots of employers finding it difficult to hire the staff they need in both highly skilled sectors such as engineering and at the other end of the market in hospitality and healthcare,” Green said.

“With British applicants already in short supply, policy makers must ensure that employers can continue to access the people they need from Europe to fill the jobs available. This must be top of the agenda to safeguard the strength of the UK jobs market and sustainable economic growth which benefits us all,” Green said.

The next JobsOutlook report will include data collected in July, after the referendum.