Professional hiring activity in Scotland increased by 7% in 2018, according to a report from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

Key sectors influencing this growth included financial services and technology with vacancies in banking up 23% and demand for IT analysts up 46% in December 2018 compared to the previous year.

The APSCo Regional Trends Report, produced in conjunction with Vacancysoft, found that one in five of all professional roles being created was in IT and, across the financial services sector, tech-based roles accounted for three of the top five areas of hiring.

In terms of location, Glasgow and Edinburgh are leading the way with 25% of professional vacancies in Scotland generated in the former and 28% in the latter. This, is in part, due to large employers such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life and JP Morgan operating in these cities.

Of the top ten employers in Scotland in 2018, six were financial services firms including HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Barclays bank. Other firms to make the list include Tesco, Sky and The University of Glasgow.

Moya Rylands, Regional Director at APSCo commented, “It’s no surprise that Scotland is seeing impressive levels of hiring activity, with recent figures showing the Scottish economy is growing faster than the rest of the UK. The newly formed Scottish Growth Scheme funded with £500 millon of investment, is also playing a part in stimulating early stage companies through helping with their hiring needs.”

“Despite an uncertain market, the rapidly changing digital landscape is having a positive impact in the country and our report shows the growth of the digital economy is becoming more visible than ever before,” Rylands said. “With the Scottish government planning fresh investment into telecoms, this is likely to accelerate growth of vacancies in the sector as this roll out happens. However with the increase in internal recruitment roles in banking for example, this suggests companies are focused on streamlining their processes and cutting costs, which is something recruiters need to be wary of going forward.”