There was yet another marked fall in permanent staff appointments in the last month, the quickest seen in over three years, showed the latest KPMG and REC jobs report.

Recruiters frequently mentioned that employers were hesitant to commit to new hires in August and had adopted recruitment freezes due to a continued weak economic climate.

Demand for accounting, logistics, manufacturing, engineering and healthcare candidates continued to grow strongly for both permanent and temporary roles, meaning employers are still experiencing shortages.