Amid rising unemployment figures and fears over work opportunities in the UK, a new report has some good news to share.

A new report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG has shown that upward trends in staff appointments have continued throughout November, particularly in the nursing, medical and care sector.

The Report on Jobs 2009 paper found that the growth of permanent staff across all sectors is at it's strongest since July 2007, when the economic downturn first began to affect industries across the country. The biggest growth in permanent positions however has been in nursing, medical and social care jobs.

Although it remains unclear how long this growth will be sustained - public sector cuts are expected following the general election in 2010 - currently, qualified social workers, occupational therapy workers, nurses and other medical staff are in high demand. Coupled with the first rise in the average permanent salary for 15 months, the jobs market for allied health professionals is at a peak.

Also, though cuts to public spending seem extremely likely, the recently published findings of the Social Work Task Force may help safeguard the sector from the worst of these. It predicts an increase in the demand for qualified social workers in the near future and has issued a set of recommendations aimed at safeguarding the future employment resources of the country, included increased training opportunities and improved career prospects.

The REC's Chief Executive, Kevin Green, welcomed the "very positive news" in a statement accompanying the report.
"November figures show the fastest rise in permanent jobs for 28 months.  Employers in nearly all sectors are lifting recruitment freezes and starting to hire again" said Green. "Flexibility in the UK’s labour market has proved effective in ensuring that unemployment has not reached the levels experienced by some of our international competitors. Whilst UK output has shrunk by 5.9 per cent, employment has declined by only two per cent."