There was a marked fall in permanent staff appointments in the last month, albeit with the pace of contraction easing from May’s two-year record, showed the latest KPMG and REC jobs report.

Staff redundancies and the hiring slowdown impacted staff availability, which rose for the fourth consecutive month in June.

However, certain sectors reported skill shortages during the last month, including accounting and finance, construction and engineering.

Recruiters that recorded lower placements pointed to uncertainty over the economic outlook and a subsequent slowdown in staff hiring, with recruitment freezes and delays around decision-making.