Contractor news: Construction industry ''has highest demand for staff''

There is a high demand for staff in the construction industry, contractors have been told.

Construction is one of the sectors that has the highest demand for staff, which could be good news for contractors in the industry.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG''s Report on Jobs has highlighted the fact that the number of vacancies increased in July, but at the slowest rate of growth for eight months.

Despite this, salaries for permanent staff increased at the fastest rate for approximately two-and-a-half years, although this was more modest for temporary workers.

Kevin Green, the REC''s chief executive, claimed that the government must do more to improve the employment market to compensate for the job cuts forecast in the public sector.

He said: "[There is] a significant deceleration in the jobs market with the rate of expansion easing to an eight month low. This is the first real indicator that cuts in the public sector are beginning to bite."

This contrasts with comments by Construction News associate editor Alex Hawkes, who has claimed that those working in this industry face an uncertain outlook.

He said that the health of the economy as a whole will impact on the industry more than many others, with offices and the retail markets'' interest in construction impacting on the amount of work available.