According to new data, signs of recovery in the labour market and concerning consumer sentiment have surfaced, with the latest Nationwide Consumer Confidence survey and the Report on Jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG both indicating positive trends.

The Report on Jobs receals an increase in permanent placements, at the fastest rate since the credit crunch commenced in July 2007, indicating an acceleration of an already-positive motion. In addition, temporary and contract staff billings also increased, however the most recent rise was the slowest in three months.

A survey of 400 recruit and employment consultancies revealed a continued rising demand for staff in February, which extended the current growth phase of to five months.

"The UK jobs market is continuing to improve. High-end sectors such as IT are showing particularly strong growth and we are also seeing significant increases in demand for admin and back-office support,", Recruitment and Employment Confederation chief executive, Kevin Green said.

"Looking ahead, there are indications that recruitment in the public sector could drop off fast. Rather than responding with random job cuts, the public sector needs to embrace radical reform," he added.

The results appear to be improving consumer outlook, with a Nationwide survey that indicates confidence is at its highest level in two years.

"A strong influencing factor behind this uplift is likely to be the news that the UK has come out of its longest recession on record," Nationwide's chief economist, Martin Gahbauer said.

"By comparison, it would seem that consumers are perhaps feeling the pinch in their spending power, and we may now be seeing the effects of the withdrawal of government incentives such as the stamp duty holiday and lower VAT," he added.