The number of job seekers in the UK grew by 138% in January compared to the previous month, and by 67% compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the latest Morgan Mckinley London Employment Monitor.

The data also showed that available jobs grew by 115% month-on-month to 9,180, however on a year-on-year basis, this was virtually flat with a very small decrease of 1%.

The Office of National Statistics labour market figures released earlier this year also shows a rise in job vacancies.

“Hiring activity fell off a cliff in December, and similar to last year’s month on month trend (where it showed a 100% increase), the bounce back was expected,” Hakan Enver, Operations Director, Morgan McKinley Financial Services, said. “However, the strength of this increase, considering the current sentiment, does come as somewhat of a surprise.”

The average salary in the UK for someone moving to another organization was 18% in January.

“January has been a great month for job seekers,” Enver said. “We’ve actually seen double digit growth in salaries for those we’ve successfully found a new opportunity for. Clearly, professionals with the right skillset are able to demand a premium. If organisations are not forthcoming with salary negotiations to those that can clearly demonstrate their value to a firm, they will be better off elsewhere.”