Jobless recovery fears return as recruiters report hiring slump

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Mr Green called on the Government to take urgent action to avoid a new ‘lost
generation’ of workers.

The temping jobs market fared better, with the index showing that temporary
placements rose from 58.7 in April to 59.2 in May, with the demand for
temporary staff the strongest for blue collar workers and the engineering
and construction sector.

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Michael Page faces surprise £40m tax bill

Michael Page International, the FTSE 250 recruitment consultancy, is facing an
unexpected £40 million tax bill, it emerged today, as it unveiled a sharp
drop in quarterly profits.

The group, Britain’s second-biggest recruiter, was warned by the Inland
Revenue last month that it was “considering taking steps” to
recover £37.4 million which it had handed over as a part settlement of an
alleged overpaid VAT bill.

Details of the case emerged as the group unveiled a third-quarter trading
update which showed a 41.8 per cent drop in profits to £82.2 million for the
three months to the end of September with income falling in every region.

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UK service sector signals growth

The UK service sector grew unexpectedly in May, a survey has said, indicating the economic outlook may be improving.

The PMI services index hit 51.7 in May, up from 48.7 in April. A measure above 50 indicates growth, and this was the first reading over 50 since April 2008.

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UK job market weakening rapidly

The UK job market weakened rapidly in November as permanent placements declined at record levels, a new survey from Markit Economics suggests.

The drop in permanent and temporary jobs was faster than at any point in the survey’s 11-year history. Read more