The REC Construction sector group has welcomed the latest Construction Key Performance Indicators which show that average productivity in the construction industry increased by 15 per cent in 2009 in the midst of the recession.

The REC has welcomed Chancellor George Osborne’s proposals in his Emergency Budget to help the UK’s jobs market through reducing tax liabilities on private sector businesses and creating a stable tax environment for them to plan.

The REC will be in Bristol and Cardiff next week on the latest leg of its On the Road series of regional events.

Ahead of tomorrow’s Emergency Budget, the REC has called on Chancellor George Osborne to protect the UK’s fragile labour market by prioritising job creation and limiting the impact on employment opportunities on the public sector.

The coalition Government’s plans to axe £10.5 billion of new projects include a number of the measures designed to get young job-seekers and the long-term unemployed back into work. As incoming Ministers finalise their own plans to address youth unemployment issues, the REC has underlined the need to harness the expertise of the private sector recruitment industry.

The REC has today spelled out its clear and unequivocal opposition to any extension of the current Gangmasters Licensing regulations into other sectors of the industry.

With the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) just 16 months away, the REC is today (Thursday June 17) launching a new phase of its ongoing AWR campaign. The aim is to help recruiters and their clients prepare for the legal, practical and even technological challenges that the new regulations will present.

The REC's Engineering and Technical sector group has welcomed the news that Network Rail is to create over 300 skilled engineering jobs.

The REC's Education sector group says child safety must remain paramount after the Government’s announcement yesterday that it was putting on hold the introduction of the Independent Safeguarding Authority’s Vetting and Barring Scheme while it carries out a review into its provisions.

The latest unemployment figures published today by the Office for National Statistics, has shown the number of people out of work has risen by 23,000 to 2.47 million in the three months up to April.