Companies in the UK are continuing to cut back on the permanent employment opportunities they provide – a trend that could persist for some time to come.

New research by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has found that many firms are rejecting the idea of permanent staff in favour of taking on people on a flexible basis.

It found that 67 per cent of organisations have plans to add to their permanent workforce within the next quarter, but this figure was 74 per cent last month.

On top of this, 49 per cent have intentions to add to their list of employees in the long term – a number that is overshadowed by the 66 per cent that suggested this a little more than four weeks ago.

"With the economy continuing to stagnate, businesses will understandably remain cautious which is why we are seeing an increase in the longer tem demand for flexible staff such as temporary and contract workers," said Roger Tweedy, director of research at the REC.

Senior research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies Becci Newton recently said volunteering can be a good way to build up skills and potentially improve the chance of landing a job.

Posted by Lee Thrace