LONDON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- British employers' confidence in their country's economic prospects fell in March by 8 percent from the previous month and was 54 percentage points lower than in June 2016, said a survey released on Wednesday by The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

Data showed employers' confidence in making hiring and investment decisions decreased in March by 6 percent from the previous month.

According to the REC, 49 percent of UK employers surveyed voiced concern about the availability of permanent-hire candidates, and 82 percent of employers either had no surplus workforce capacity or they needed to hire more staff if demand increased.

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: "A year of falling business investment and weeks of Brexit inertia mean no one should be surprised that employers' confidence in hiring for their own business is now dropping.

"For months, businesses have told us that they were concerned about the general outlook for the economy -- it is clear to us that this concern is now closer to home. Lower use of temporary labour is a sign of lower demand," Carberry said.

"The extension to the Brexit deadline gives us some space to find a pragmatic deal that will give the UK's businesses the certainty they need to invest and create jobs," Carberry added.