LONDON (Reuters) - Permanent job placements in Britain grew for a third consecutive month in October and at the fastest pace in two years, a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and accountancy firm KPMG showed on Wednesday. The index of permanent placements by recruitment agencies jumped to 54.6 in October from 51.3 in September -- the third month running it has been above the 50-level that separates expansion from contraction.
The index of temporary staff placements increased to 51.9 from 50.8, a 16-month high.
REC chief executive Kevin Green said the improvement in the survey, which also showed vacancies grew for the first time in 17 months, suggested unemployment would not hit 3 million next year after all, as many economists are predicting.
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"These figures show the UK jobs market is on the road to recover," he said.
The survey also showed permanent salaries fell at their slowest pace in the current 13-month period of decline, with pay for temporary staff falling at its slowest rate in a year, although levels of staff availability continued to increase.
(Reporting by Fiona Shaikh, editing by Patrick Graham)
