November's second coronavirus English lockdown brought about a first decline in permanent staff appointments across the North for three months, new figures have revealed.
The latest KPMG and REC report on jobs for the region showed a further - but softer - fall in demand for permanent workers, although temporary vacancies actually increased for the third month in a row.
The report released on Wednesday said on the supply side, candidate numbers for both permanent and temporary roles continued to rise "sharply", driven by the mass redundancies that have been announced since the start of the Covid outbreak.
The report is compiled by IHS Markit, and based on responses to questionnaires sent to around 100 recruitment and employment consultancies in the North.
Warren Middleton, office senior partner for KPMG in Manchester, said: “While the decline in permanent staff recruitment across the North is reflective of the wider economic uncertainty throughout the country, recent announcements offer reasons for optimism.
"From the rollout of a vaccine, to the government’s investment in low carbon infrastructure, which has the potential to boost jobs in the North, the region’s firms are well-placed to bounce back in 2021.”
The report said the decline in permanent staff appointments had been the first since August. Anecdotal evidence in the document said firms were hesitant to hire additional staff due to the Covid uncertainty.
As was the case in each of the previous four months, temp billings in the North increased during November.
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Though marked overall, the rate of growth eased for the first time in the current run of expansion - due to a higher demand for temporary workers, particularly in the industrial sector.
Additionally, starting salaries awarded to permanent workers across the North of England fell in November - as has been the case for every month since April.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: “With lockdown measures in place in England last month, the slowdown in both demand for and placements of permanent staff is unsurprising – although the scale of it is much smaller than earlier in the year.
"Feedback from REC members indicates that employers are still looking to hire, with a lot of demand for permanent staff displaced to January as firms hope the Covid crisis is easing. For now though, temporary work continues to help businesses operate and people find jobs – some positive news as we head towards Christmas.
“With the vaccine on the way, we must remember not to get complacent – many firms will still need support in the coming months as the economy gradually recovers.
"This goes for workers too and, as recruiters are the jobs experts, an even closer partnership with the industry will help Government bring people back into work through JobCentres and the Restart scheme.”