The Adecco Job Watch: August 2011

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 ON THURSDAY 18 TH AUGUST 2011

JOBS MARKET REMAINS STABLE BUT EMPLOYERS CONTINUE WITH CAUTIOUS APPROACH TO PERMANENT ROLES

• Employer caution and seasonal trends drive demand for temporary roles in July

The recruitment market in July remained relatively stable, with temporary roles proving the best performers according to Adecco and the latest data from mysalarychecker.com*. With recent turbulence in the economy driving uncertainty among employers, the volume of temporary roles are likely to be maintained or grow as they provide the flexibility that employers are looking for in a cautious market.

Across the whole market, there were over 160,000 vacancies advertised in July – marginally down on the previous two months. While the decline in public sector vacancies has driven the fall in permanent roles, it is the accountancy sector which has shown the greatest decline in temporary positions, although despite this, it still remains a busy sector for jobseekers with one of the highest number of vacancies across both temporary and permanent markets. Engineering and construction is the only sector to record monthly growth in vacancies across both permanent and temporary roles.

*mysalarychecker.com is operated by the Adecco Group UK & Ireland*1 General Staffing roles refer to all manual, administrative and non professional services roles, ranging from sales and customer services roles to those in administration and catering

Permanent roles were reported to be down in all sectors in July, except engineering and construction and IT, reflecting the typical seasonal slowdown over the summer months and the continued caution among employers to make permanent hires.

A similar pattern was reported among general staffing roles*1 (manual, administrative and non professional services roles), with a marginal decline in the number of permanent roles across most sectors but a relatively stable temporary market. Banking, insurance and finance continued to create a significantly larger volume of roles than other sectors, followed by the engineering and manufacturing sector.

Recent economic turbulence set to drive up demand for temporary roles

Steven Kirkpatrick, Managing Director, Adecco – the UK’s largest recruiter, said:

“With the recent headlines causing uncertainty across the market, employers are likely to be approaching any planned new hires with caution, as they wait to see how the next few months pan out. As a result, we would expect to see temporary hires dominate vacancy requirements.

“As employers increasingly rely on temporary staff and the flexibility they afford, the impending Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), which come into effect on the 1st October, are going to become increasingly prevalent. Our latest research still shows that a worrying number of employers are still confused about the implications for their business and it is imperative that those who rely on temporary staff sit up and take action now. If employers start talking to their recruiters early and introduce a few simple steps to ensure they are prepared, there is no need for concern. By working with recruitment agencies and following the Government guidance, companies can easily navigate this new legislation, allowing them to continue benefiting from this valuable element of the workforce.”

-ends-

Notes to Editors

For further information or to arrange an interview contact: Claire Laycock or Rebecca Taylor on 08453 700 655 / adecco@octopuscomms.net

The Adecco Job Watch tracks the number of new job vacancies across all sectors, compared to the previous month.

The Adecco Job Watch is powered by mysalarychecker.com, which gathers data information from millions of UK job postings, which have been listed on a range of job boards, recruitment agencies, corporate websites and the associated listed companies.

mysalarychecker.com is operated by the Adecco Group UK & Ireland family of recruitment companies in conjunction with Salary Track - Workdigital Ltd an Incisive Media company product

Number of vacancies by sector in June 2011, provided by mysalarychecker.com

*mysalarychecker.com is operated by the Adecco Group UK & Ireland*1 General Staffing roles refer to all manual, administrative and non professional services roles, ranging from sales and customer services roles to those in administration and catering

Sector Permanent vacancies (July 11) Temporary vacancies (July 11)Telecoms 3,791 276Accountancy 22,660 2,465Banking, Insurance & Finance 12,620 551Engineering & Construction 24,560 1,881Legal 12,712 395Public Sector 5,711 518IT 15,492 6,033

Number of general staffing roles by sector in June 2011, provided by mysalarychecker.com

Sector Permanent vacancies (July 11) Temporary vacancies (July 11)Banking, Insurance & Finance 6,770 812Retail 3,663 259Telecomms 233 20Media, New Media & Creative 3,056 129Engineering & Manufacturing 4,299 254Public Sector 982 196

About Adecco:Adecco is the global leader in employment services, connecting people to jobs through its network of 6,600 offices in more than 71 territories. In the UK alone it has over 120 branches and a client base of over 33,000 organisations from all areas of commerce and industry. Adecco retains over 35,000 temporary workers with around 250 permanent staff placed each week.

Adecco is proud to be the Official Recruitment Services Provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Adecco are ranked 26th in The Sunday Times’ 100 Best Companies to Work for list and have achieved 2* Best Companies accreditation for outstanding workplace engagement.

The Adecco Group, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is the world's leading provider of HR solutions. With over 28,000 FTE employees and more than 5,700 offices, in over 60 countries and territories around the world, Adecco Group offers a wide variety of services, connecting more than 500,000 colleagues with over 100,000 clients every day. The services offered fall into the broad categories of temporary staffing, permanent placement, outsourcing, consulting and outplacement. The Adecco Group is a Fortune Global 500 company.

Adecco S.A. is registered in Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) with listings on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN) and on Euronext in France (ADE).

*mysalarychecker.com is operated by the Adecco Group UK & Ireland*1 General Staffing roles refer to all manual, administrative and non professional services roles, ranging from sales and customer services roles to those in administration and catering