An increase in temporary jobs and self-employment in the UK labour market suggests employers are still wary about recruitment, the CIPD claims.

The study shows that three quarters of the 76,000 new jobs created between November 2005 and February of this year were temporary, and half were on a self-employment basis.

The CIPD’s Chief Economist John Philpott said that this could be bad news for the UK economy.

“Concentrated hiring of temporary staff and self-employed contract staff is normally a sign that employers are uncertain about the state of the economy.

“The good news, however, is that employers in general still remain surprisingly reluctant to make staff redundant – though this could reverse if the expected economic recovery fails to materialise.”

He added: “Net employment growth in 2006 is set to be closer to 100,000 than the 250,000 net growth enjoyed in recent years.”