Job appointments increased at the slowest rate for ten months in August, according to data released by The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (Rec).

Rec has said that both permanent and temporary placements rose at the weakest rate since October 2009 and rises in pay also continued to slow.

The body did, reveal though that there are opportunities in some sectors, such as chefs, nurses, engineers and internet developers, where there were a shortage of skilled workers.

Growth is rapidly slowing as public sector job freezes start to bite. A priority for government is to ramp up the support and guidance for job-seekers and to raise awareness of these growth areas within our labour market," said Rec's chief executive Kevin Green.