The number of people placed in permanent jobs by recruitment consultancies across the UK increased for the nineteenth consecutive month in February, according to the latest Report on Jobs from IHS Markit/REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation).

The report also showed that temp billings grew at a faster pace midway through the first quarter.

Although demand for staff remained robust in February, overall growth of demand softened to its slowest in 14 months. Slower increases in staff vacancies were seen for both permanent and temporary positions. The strongest growth of demand for permanent staff was seen within the IT & Computing sector during February. Meanwhile, Nursing/Medical/Care employees were the most in-demand type of short-term staff in February, slightly ahead of Blue Collar. Construction workers registered the weakest growth of demand.

“Even with employer uncertainty, demand for staff continues to rise,” Kevin Green, REC Chief Executive, said. “At the same time candidate availability is still dropping, which means that employers in all sectors are struggling to recruit for the roles they desperately need to fill.

“Nursing in particular remains an area of shortage as nurses continue to leave the NHS and recruitment gets tougher,” Green said. “Recruiters tell us that demand for temporary medical staff is higher than every other sector and ONS data supports the idea that a huge number of vacancies exist across NHS trusts.”

The report also showed that the availability of candidates for permanent roles continued to decline in February. The rate of deterioration was sharp, despite easing to the weakest for 11 months. The decline in temporary/contract staff availability softened further in February. The latest reduction in temp labour supply was the least marked for 13 months, although still sharp overall.

The rate of starting salary inflation eased from January’s 31-month peak but remained sharp in February. Temporary/contract staff hourly pay rates also rose further, and at a faster pace than recorded in January.

“Employers need to make their jobs attractive to candidates to attract talent and skills to their organisation. Increasing starting pay is a good step, but it isn’t enough. Businesses need to focus on creating a great culture and investing in their people. The opportunity for development and the ability to progress are key for people looking to move job,” Green said.

“Government has a critical role to play. Post-Brexit, we will continue to need people from the EU to work in UK institutions like the NHS, and this needs to be as easy as possible without unnecessary cost or bureaucracy. We also need to develop skills across all sectors of the economy and the best way to do this is by broadening the apprenticeship levy into a wider training levy,” Green said.