RECRUITMENT agencies continued to place more people in jobs last month, but the rate of growth has slowed and skills shortages are getting worse, a new study has shown.

Starting salaries have also continued to increase, including pay for temporary staff, said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

Chief executive Kevin Green said: "It's been a strong year for the UK labour market and it's a sign of continuing business confidence that employers are expanding their permanent workforces and are prepared to make more generous offers to new recruits to attract the right people. Over a quarter of recruiters say that starting salaries for equivalent jobs are getting better by the month, driven by competition between employers for quality candidates.

"If there's a cloud on the horizon for 2015 it's the intensifying skills shortages which now spans many sectors and is particularly acute in high-skilled areas like engineering, IT and medicine. It's not just about graduates, vacancies for skilled manual jobs are getting harder to fill as well.

"The shortage of licensed HGV drivers and forklift operators could mean retailers struggle to meet the Christmas demand generated by Cyber Monday and eager shoppers on the high streets."

Bernard Brown of KPMG, which helped with the study, warned of a possible "negative trend" on jobs.