Online recruitment fell for the fourth quarter in a row in September, according to Monster.

Its quarterly employment index fell by eight points to 159 and revealed year-on-year decline for the first time.

The survey showed that hiring fell sharpest in the environment, architecture and urbanism, and HR sectors but the banking, finance and insurance sectors also saw big drops.

"The latest findings suggest that overall job losses are likely to intensify as the troubled financial and housing industries continue to drag down the wider UK economy," said Hugo Sellert, head of economic research at Monster Worldwide.

There were moderate rises in online hiring for the public sector, defence, community and legal sectors.