Record rise in permanent placements and starting salaries in Scotland
20 August 2014
Scotland’s recovering labour market has seen record rises in permanent placements and starting salaries for July, according to the Bank of Scotland’s latest report on jobs.
Wed, 20 Aug 2014 | By Sarah MarquetScotland’s recovering labour market has seen record rises in permanent placements and starting salaries for July, according to the Bank of Scotland’s latest report on jobs.
However, that is not necessarily good news for recruiters.
The report, based on a monthly survey of more than 100 recruitment and employment consultants, said a Glasgow-led strong and broad-based demand for staff continued to drive the upturn.
However, there was a drop in the number of candidates for vacancies, the level of which had fallen continuously since early 2012.
Technology recruitment consultancy Enigma People Solutions director David Mains told Recruiter the lack of candidates was making it a difficult marketplace.
There were several reasons for the lack, including companies putting little or no investment into training or graduate recruitment in recent years.
That meant when companies now asked for a graduate with two years’ experience, for example, they might not be able to find one.
He also said as companies failed to find people to fill positions, they were increasingly turning to contractors.
When it came to Glasgow leading the rises, Mains said he thought that was down to population.
Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae said, in a statement, the rises “provided further proof of the continuing recovery”.
“Demand for both permanent and temporary staff was expressed by a surge in vacancies accompanied by a drop in the number of candidates available. These trends should lead to further gains in employment and eventually to an increase in overall earnings growth.”
Other highlights of the survey were:
However, that is not necessarily good news for recruiters.
The report, based on a monthly survey of more than 100 recruitment and employment consultants, said a Glasgow-led strong and broad-based demand for staff continued to drive the upturn.
However, there was a drop in the number of candidates for vacancies, the level of which had fallen continuously since early 2012.
Technology recruitment consultancy Enigma People Solutions director David Mains told Recruiter the lack of candidates was making it a difficult marketplace.
There were several reasons for the lack, including companies putting little or no investment into training or graduate recruitment in recent years.
That meant when companies now asked for a graduate with two years’ experience, for example, they might not be able to find one.
He also said as companies failed to find people to fill positions, they were increasingly turning to contractors.
When it came to Glasgow leading the rises, Mains said he thought that was down to population.
Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae said, in a statement, the rises “provided further proof of the continuing recovery”.
“Demand for both permanent and temporary staff was expressed by a surge in vacancies accompanied by a drop in the number of candidates available. These trends should lead to further gains in employment and eventually to an increase in overall earnings growth.”
Other highlights of the survey were:
- Aberdeen recorded the sharpest overall increase in temporary billings.
- Consultancies operating in Dundee registered the steepest decline in permanent candidate numbers, while the most marked drop in temp candidate supply was in Aberdeen.
- Rate of growth of hourly pay for temporary staff quickened.
- July saw the sharpest rise in permanent placements in the survey’s 11 and a half-year history.
- Degree to which temporary job openings increased was the most marked for seven years.
- Rate of growth of permanent jobs vacancies hit a four-month high
- Availability of candidates for permanent and temporary vacancies decreased.
- Strongest increase in demand for permanent staff was in the IT and computing sector, followed by healthcare.
