Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive, said:

“So far this year we’ve seen signs of improving momentum but that is now being tempered by the economic effects of the Gulf conflict. Businesses will be particularly concerned about the impact on inflation, their borrowing costs and any disruption to wider supply chains. The good news is that employers are leaning more on temporary work to move ahead with their plans in this more uncertain time, demonstrating again why temporary and contract work matters so much to growth and jobs. The temporary sector showed its strongest growth in two and a half years last month. Government can do more to help firms feel able to commit to permanent hiring too, by addressing the cost of doing business – the key domestic contributor to hiring activity. Taking the threat of badly designed guaranteed hours rules off the table would make a huge difference.”