UK transport companies are still looking to recruit more staff during the second quarter of this year.

A new survey by employment firm Manpower showed businesses are still hiring, despite a weakening in prospects. The study found the positive balance of organisations wanting to increase their workforce slipped slightly last quarter, to three per cent.

Research suggested this represented a fall of four per cent against the previous three months and a year-on-year decline of 13 per cent. Despite this, sector director at Manpower Group's logistics division, Simon Edwards, was quick to point out recruitment was still on the up.

He added: "We're seeing strong demand for warehousing staff, lorry loader operatives and Cat V and C+E drivers."

The survey questioned 2,112 UK employers across all sectors on whether they intended to increase or reduce their workforce in the coming quarter. All industries reported they would take on more staff.