'Employers are sitting on their hands'

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has announced it predicts "a slow painful contraction in the labour market".

Gerwyn Davies, who wrote the CIPD report, explains that in the short-term there is are "concerns about global growth" as a result of the eurozone crisis.

He adds that it is crucial to point out that although the private sector is continuing to grow it is not "offsetting" the cut in public sector jobs.