Negotiations between trade unions and employers have played an important role in staving off unemployment levels during the economic downturn, according to a leading employment research organisation.

Ken Mulkeran, editor of Income Data Services' (IDS) fortnightly Pay Report, made the comments during its joint conference with Acas in London on Thursday.

"Employment has increased recently," Mulkeran told delegates. "Although unemployment has risen throughout this recession it hasn't been anywhere near as high as in the recession of the early 1990s.

"Some of this is to do with the deals done between unions and employers to retain skills at a time when things looked very difficult indeed.

"I would say that the labour market is in a good state given the recession that we've just had, but I think its probably fair to say that it's fragile as well. Cuts that have been made and more are likely to come. A big question is whether the private sector will take the slack and a lot depends on the economic backdrop."

The conference – which is in its second year – was organised to discuss the economic recovery, austerity and employee relations.