UK job vacancies shrink for 1st time since 2009 as coronavirus hits employers

LONDON (Reuters) - British employers' demand for staff plummeted in March with job vacancies contracting for the first time in nearly 11 years as the coronavirus pandemic brought hiring activity to a halt, a survey of recruiters showed on Wednesday.A measure of vacancies compiled by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and accountants KPMG, fell to 47.8 in March, below the no-change 50 level for the first time since September 2009. The fall in the index -- which is monitored by the..