Job offers are being put on hold as employees and recruitment agencies exercise caution in the current economic situation, it has been found.
The growth of the UK job market is considerably weak with permanent placements falling at their sharpest since 2001, according to The Recruitment and Employment Federation's (REC) Report on Jobs.
Temporary job openings were also at their lowest in five years the report, gathered from the information of 400 UK recruiters, also indicated.
Kevin Green, the REC's chief executive, said: "The report's latest figures show a continued decline in permanent placements, which has now spread to the traditionally robust temporary jobs market."
The standstill is evidence that the credit crunch has seeped into the recruitment market, Mr Green argued.
In related news, a recent report by professional services firm KPMG found that more than half of UK employers saw making redundancies as the only viable way to cutting costs as the credit crunch takes hold.
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