UK hiring weakened in September: permanent placements and temp billings fell while candidate availability rose sharply, reflecting weaker employer demand and rising supply.

• Permanent placements: Continued to decline in September, though the rate of fall eased to the softest in about a year; firms cited hesitancy to take on new workers amid weaker conditions.

• Temporary billings: Fell at a solid pace in September, with the rate of decline quicker than in August, extending softer recruitment activity for short-term roles.

• Vacancies: Overall job vacancies fell markedly at quarter-end, with the contraction easing only slightly from August’s six-month record — permanent vacancies fell more sharply than temp openings.

• Starting pay: Starting salaries for permanent staff rose only fractionally in September, the weakest pace since the current pay-inflation run began ~4½ years ago; temp pay growth also eased.

• Candidate supply: Availability of workers increased sharply, driven by reduced hiring activity and redundancies; both permanent and temporary labour supply rose markedly (though the expansion slowed a little from August’s record).

• Drivers: Survey respondents pointed to low employer confidence, cost pressures and redundancies as the main reasons for softer hiring and the surge in candidate numbers.