Coalition cuts could bring about "jobless recovery"

The economic recovery is likely to be short on new jobs as the new coalition gets stuck into the task of cutting Britain's debt, racked up by increased spending and borrowing under the previous Labour government.

A new report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation has found that job vacancies increased in May, however they did so at a slower rate than in April. The report also found that the number of permanent staff placements by recruitment firms increased for the 10th consecutive month.

Despite the apparent rise in job vacancies the REC said that job growth was still slow and this combined with cuts in the public sector could lead to a "jobless recovery".

Kevin Green, Chief Executive of the REC, said, "Job vacancies continue to grow but at a slower rate than previous months.

"On the upside, professional recruiters have identified a number of job categories - including accountants, HR professionals, software developers and chefs - where suitable candidates are in high demand. However, we remain concerned about the overall employment outlook as public sector recruitment freezes start to bite.

"With fewer opportunities in the public sector and jobs growth in the private sector improving only very slowly, predictions of a jobless recovery are looking more likely.

"In this environment, there are real fears for the one million young people not in work or training who will find it increasing difficult to get on the jobs ladder. This month's jobs data further underlines the need for urgent action if we are to avoid a new lost generation of workers."