Scotland's economic recovery is set to continue in 2015, according to Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae, as reported by the BBC.

His comments came as the bank's latest Report on Jobs found Scotland's job market was in "relatively rude health". The final report for 2014 said permanent placements rose sharply, and there was a rise in starting salaries.

In November, Scotland's job growth slowed to is lowest rate since April falling behind the rest of the UK. In December it bounced back. The survey found the largest increases in permanent job openings were in IT and computing followed by the executive and professional sector. The sharpest increases were recorded in Aberdeen.

There was a loss of momentum in growth of placements for temporary jobs and contract vacancies, the report said. The strongest demand for temporary staff continued to be in the nursing/medical/care sector.

The report found that starting salaries increased sharply last month as demand for staff remained strong. Salary inflation was close to the survey record, with the rate of inflation second only to July 2014. In comparison, growth in hourly pay rates for temporary staff was much slower, having eased to a three-month low.

The availability of candidates remained in decline for both permanent and temporary positions. Mr MacRae said: "The number of people appointed to jobs rose with particularly strong growth in appointments to permanent jobs. The number of vacancies rose at a faster pace while staring salaries rose at near-record levels.”

"These results provide further evidence that the economic recovery continued at the end of last year and looks set to carry on into 2015."