Almost two in five of employers are planning to make redundancies in the coming months, signalling a downturn in the jobs market a survey has found.

The winter CIPD/KPMG labour market outlook (LMO) survey shows 38 per cent of employers are preparing to cut jobs, a sharp increase on the autumn 2007 LMO survey figure of 17 per cent and the highest quarterly figure for redundancy intentions since the LMO survey began in 2004.

A quarter of employers expecting to make redundancies this quarter report at least ten staff will lose their jobs.

The figures show redundancies are set to increase in all sectors but are strongest in the public services where almost half (48 per cent) of employers surveyed expected to make at least some staff redundant this quarter.

Redundancy intentions are highest in the East Midlands (47 per cent), the West Midlands (45 per cent) and the south-west of England (45 per cent).

CIPD chief economist John Philpott said: “With net recruitment activity still positive, signs of mounting employer pessimism shouldn’t be read as evidence of a jobs market approaching meltdown.

“But it does suggest that the UK is entering a period of slower employment growth and somewhat greater job insecurity than in recent years.”

Pay expectations remain benign according to the survey with 30 per cent of employers conducting a review in the next few months expecting the pay of their staff to increase on average by between three per cent and 3.5 per cent.