UK jobs outlook hits three-year low

The recruitment sector is scaling back as the UK job market is at its lowest ebb since the last quarter of 2012, according to new research.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,101 UK employers. It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter.

London is the most optimistic area for hiring with a score of plus eight per cent, which is approximately double the national average.  

Job prospects in the north are behind the UK average of plus four per cent; the North East is on minus two per cent, the North West is on zero per cent, and Yorkshire and Humberside is on plus three per cent.