Recruitment firms forecast further rises in UK jobless total By CLAIRE SMITH Published on Wednesday 9 May 2012 00:39 THE jobs market remains "fragile" and unemployment is likely to increase in the coming months, according to research among recruitment firms. Information from 400 employment consultancies showed that permanent staff placements increased in April, but the rate of growth was the slowest since January, the report by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said. Although the survey showed a rise in UK household's feeling of job security, the head of business services at one of Britain's top accounting firms said the future did not look good. Bernard Brown, of KPMG, said: "With the recent economic data in the UK and continued global economic uncertainties, the situation is unlikely to improve. Unemployment rates are likely to continue to rise in the short term. The question now is whether we start to push the three million mark. The survey showed UK households were becoming less fearful about job security with people aged between 25 and 34 the least concerned about losing their jobs. It also said temporary jobs are becoming rarer, with fewer positions filled last month compared to March. Mr Brown said: "The job market mirrors the frustration of April showers spilling into May. At first glance, it is encouraging to see permanent job opportunities continue to improve, but there has also been a sharper decline in temporary placements. The survey showed that salaries for permanent jobs are largely frozen - with 83 per cent unchanged since the previous month. Kevin Green, chief executive of REC, said: "This month's figures show growth in permanent jobs but at the slowest level since January. This highlights the fragile nature of the UK jobs market at present. Employer and consumer confidence are increasing and we anticipate more private sector jobs being created in the second half of the year. Temporary staffing is declining. However, temps will continue to be a valuable resource for many businesses. Earlier this week, the economic think tank CEBR predicted that unemployment would rise everywhere in the UK apart from London and the South East. The report predicted five more years of rising unemployment, as public sector cutbacks push up unemployment. It suggested unemployment in Scotland would rise above the UK average in 2012 and remain higher than average until at least 2016, when it is predicted to reach 9,7 per cent - the highest rate since 1993. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that job vacancies were down 3.9 per cent on an annual basis in the three months to March, a slightly slower decline than the 4.1 per cent fall in the three months to February.