Figures issued by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) show evidence of a growing regional divide in employment levels, sparking fears of a two-speed economy.

Its quarterly survey of hiring intentions, the Labour Market Outlook, which measures expected employment levels, predicts the collapse of overall employment growth, from +3 to –1, in the short term. This will get worse over the long term, according to the twelve-month employment index, with levels set to fall to –6, down from +2 in the last quarter.