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Recruitment has hit a 15 year low as the sharp economic downturn takes its toll on firms' recruitment policies, according to new research.

The study by Manpower, which assessed the recruitment outlook of employers in the second quarter, found that many firms were making do with the staff they already had, with 22 per cent claiming they were planning on increasing their staff levels in the last three months of the year.

Mark Cahill, managing director of Manpower UK, told Reuters: "In the coming months we will continue to see employers making do with the people they have, finding ways to contain costs and being very cautious about hiring decisions."

However, London employers were the most upbeat about recruitment prospects with just one per cent saying they were planning on reducing their workforce.

The outlook of London firms was in contrast to the gloomy predictions from businesses in the north-east, with 16 per cent saying they were planning to make job cuts by the end of the year.

Industry sectors most affected by the economic slowdown were construction, high street retail and financial services.

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