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Scotland – Temporary staff billings at its weakest for six months

22 April 2014

March’s Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs showed another sharp increase in permanent  placements, despite growth easing slightly since February. The latest increase in billings for the recruitment of temporary staff was the weakest in six months, but broadly in line with the long-run average.

The demand for permanent staff continued to rise in March and at a sharp rate, unchanged from February. Growth in temporary job vacancies, however, was at a six-month low, although still strong overall.

The Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs is a monthly survey of over 100 recruitment and employment consultants across Scotland. A composite indicator, the survey, which is designed to provide a single figure snapshot of labour market conditions, registered 63.9 in March, unchanged from February’s mark and thereby the joint-second highest in the series history. The latest index reading was consistent with a marked improvement in overall labour market conditions and slightly above the equivalent index for the UK as a whole.

Donald MacRae, Chief Economist at the Bank of Scotland, commented: “The barometer reading for March was the joint-second highest in the history of the survey, reaching pre-recession levels. The number of people appointed to jobs increased, accompanied by a strong rise in job vacancies during the month. The number of candidates available for permanent jobs fell, contributing to a robust rise in starting salaries. This tightening jobs market provides more evidence of increasing business confidence and embedding of the growing recovery.”

Dundee led a broad-based increase in permanent staffing placements in March, while Edinburgh saw the fastest rise in billings from temporary staff recruitment. Aberdeen recorded the sharpest contractions in both permanent and temporary candidate numbers, as was the case the previous month. Permanent salary inflation was strongest in Glasgow, followed by Edinburgh, which recorded the most marked increase in hourly rates for temporary workers.

Permanent salary inflation dipped from February’s survey-record high, but remained strong in the context of historical survey data. Similarly, hourly pay rates for temporary workers increased markedly in March, albeit at a slightly slower pace than February.

Permanent candidate availability fell by the greatest extent in the series history, with the rate of decline having accelerated for the third consecutive month. The number of available candidates seeking temporary work also fell at a faster rate in March, the sharpest since October 2013.

The strongest rise in demand for permanent staff was in the Accounts & Finance sector. Nursing/Medical/Care and Engineering & Construction recorded the second and third sharpest increases in permanent staff demand, respectively.

Nursing/Medical/Care was the sector that saw the fastest rise in the demand for temporary/contract staff in March. Secretarial & Clerical reported the second greatest rise in demand, followed by Engineering & Construction.