The number of temporary employees fell by 1.4% to a total of 1.6 million in the three-month period of September to November when compared to the same period a year ago, according to seasonally adjusted number released Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics. When compared to the June through August period, the number of temporary workers was down 2.1%.

Temporary workers are self-identified when surveyed by the ONS, and they include those who are on fixed-period contracts, agency temp workers, casual workers, seasonal workers and others in temporary work.

Total employees – full-time, part-time and temporary – rose by 294,000 in September through November to 31.8 million. That’s up 0.9% from a year ago but was little changed when compared to the June through August period.

In addition, the ONS reported the UK employment rate was 74.5%, the joint highest since comparable records began in 1971. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was 4.8% in the UK between September and November, down from 5.1% a year earlier.

“It’s tricky to draw any conclusions from this data,” said Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna. “It paints a confused picture of the jobs market, but we are confident 2017 is set to see the gig economy build momentum and establish itself as a strong segment of the employment market.”

Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation raised concerns about the availability of candidates going forward given the jobs numbers.

“The UK is close to full employment with a rate of 74.5%, but the trend of slowing employment growth is concerning,” said. “Our data shows that candidate ability has significantly worsened, which goes some way to explain why employers are finding it more difficult to fill vacancies.” 

Green added the immediate question is how employers will find people?