British recruiters filled permanent vacancies at the slowest pace in almost two years in June, a survey showed on Wednesday, adding to worries about the strength of the economic recovery.
Research for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and accountants KPMG showed private sector job creation slowed at a time when the government is ramping up the pace of public spending cuts.
The permanent places index - a measure of how many firms are hiring extra workers - fell to a seasonally-adjusted 22-month low of 52.2 in June from 55.1 in May.
The pace of temporary placements also slowed to 52.1 from 52.4.
"Employers across all sectors are very cautious about hiring new staff - and a quick job market recovery in the UK now looks increasingly uncertain," said Bernard Brown, head of business services at KPMG.
Recruitment consultants also signalled a further weakening of pay pressures in June. The rates of inflation of both permanent and temporary staff salaries were only marginal.
The figures reinforce the picture of a sluggish recovery with little sign that above-target inflation is feeding a wage-price spiral.
Given the fragility of the recovery, most investors expect the Bank of England to hold off from raising interest rates until early 2012 at the earliest.
