A total of 22% of employers expect to increase the number of temps within their workforce over the next three months while 61% plan to keep their agency workforce at the same level. This is a further indication of the value employers put on building flexibility into their workforces.
The longer term outlook is also positive with the number of businesses planning to maintain or increase their use of temporary staff over the next year rising three points on the previous month. Overall 86% of employers are planning to maintain or increase their number of temporary staff over the next 12 months.
The short and longer term forecasts for permanent staff is less optimistic with a sharp fallback in the number of employers - 53% compared to 67% last month- looking to take on more staff over the next three months. Forty per cent - down nine points on the previous month, forecasting more permanent staff hires in the next twelve months.
There has been a slight drop in the number of public sector employers - 60% this month compared to 66% in last month's survey - saying that the impact on them would be either quite serious or very serious. But there was a one point rise from 20% to 21% in the numbers of private sector employers saying there would be either a quite serious or very serious impact on their businesses as a result.
Roger Tweedy, the REC's director of research, said: "The September figures show a complex picture emerging among employers and their hiring intentions. This month has seen a marked dip in both business and consumer confidence has put the brakes on the jobs market.
"Yet despite the imminent introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations, employers are still looking to build flexibility into their workforces while an overall air of uncertainty prevails in the jobs market. "With economic predictions remaining downbeat, many employers are deferring any commitment to determining the future shape of their permanent workforces until a clearer picture emerges."
