Recruitment agencies report job growth in a 'two-speed' labour market

Demand for staff is improving, especially for temporary jobs, although the UK has a "two-speed" labour market, according to research among recruitment agencies.

Permanent staff placements increased at the biggest rate for 10 months in February and for almost four years for temporary positions, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said.

Chief executive Kevin Green said: "The UK now has a two-speed labour market. The private sector continues to hire in increasing numbers while the public sector is shedding jobs.

"The nursing, medical and care sectors have significantly declined from a year ago. In comparison, the IT and computing sector saw accelerated growth over the same period."

The report said unemployment will increase in the coming months before a "very slow" decline at the end of the year.

Mr Green added: "The scandal within the UK jobs market is that nearly one million young people - over 20% of 16 to 24-year-olds - are not in work or education.

"Young people seem to be excluded from the growing number of vacancies as employers remain conservative, favouring experience over potential.

"We are calling on the Government to unleash the job creation potential of small and medium-sized enterprises and tackle youth unemployment in its forthcoming enterprise budget. A National Insurance holiday of at least one year for every young person employed by a smaller company is an obvious win-win for both business and jobseekers."