The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said businesses in the first three months of this year were planning to shed jobs at the fastest rate since spring 2009.
UK unemployment is likely to hit 2.85m by the end of 2012 according to the CIPD, as tough business conditions undermine the private sector's ability to absorb the thousands to be axed from the public sector.
The latest available data from the Office for National Statistics showed 2.68m people were unemployed in the three months to November.
The survey of more than 1,000 employers by YouGov for the CIPD found that worsening employment prospects were the result of a sharp fall in business confidence in the past three months.
“Whereas employers were in ‘wait and see’ mode three months ago, more private sector firms, particularly among private sector services firms, have decided to push the redundancy button in response to worsening economic news," said Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser at the CIPD.
"This will exert yet more pressure on a jobs market that is buckling under the strains of contractions in economic growth and public sector employment."
The survey revealed a further widening of the north-south divide in job prospects, with the outlook improving modestly in the south of England but falling in the north.
“With redundancies looking set to be a feature in growing numbers of firms in the months to come, business leaders need to focus attention on communicating and consulting with staff to build trust and employee engagement in these uncertain times," said Mr Davies.
"Employees are likely to respond more positively to change, and even to the threat of redundancies, if they feel that they have a voice in the workplace and that senior leaders listen to their views before taking decisions.”
The Telegraph
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