Employers’ confidence in the UK economy has dropped to its joint-lowest level since mid-2016, according to a report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation.

This is only the second time that confidence in the economy has dropped to this level since REC records began in 2016.

The REC’s latest JobsOutlook report also shows that businesses have ambitious plans for recruitment. In the short-term, employers’ intentions to hire permanent staff rose to a net figure of +24, while hiring intentions for temporary agency workers remained strong at net: + 10.

Earlier this month the REC published its ‘Report on Jobs’ which showed that organisations are scaling back or even cancelling their hiring plans due to ongoing uncertainty around Brexit.

“Companies are ready to hire, invest and grow – but the lack of a clear path ahead means that more and more are thinking twice,” Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC said. “Whether it is Brexit or the spill over from Trump’s trade war, politicians need to prioritise jobs and growth over ideology.”

Other key points from the REC’s JobsOutlook report showed that 74% of employers highlighted that they have little or no surplus workforce capacity, rising to 82% in larger (250+ employee) businesses.

Meanwhile, 66% of employers of temporary agency workers highlighted that these workers are important for short-term access to key skills. This was up from 55% a year earlier.

REC’s data also showed that this quarter, 73% of employers who use recruitment agencies reported being satisfied with their agency partners. This increased to 81% among mid-sized (50-249 employee) businesses.