Member Article

Northern job market is the fastest growing in the UK

The number of permanent positions in the North has risen at a faster rate than the rest of the UK according to The Report on Jobs: North.

Permanent staff appointments in the North have witnessed the fastest growth since April, increasing for a sixteenth consecutive month in August.

Strong expansions in permanent staff appointments were also registered in the other three monitored English regions in August, although the UK average deteriorated slightly from July.

Continuing the trend observed in each of the past 25 months, temporary/contract staff billings in the North rose in August.

Recruitment consultants in the North reported that permanent staff availability declined sharply in August, extending the current sequence of contraction to 19 months.

The pace at which permanent staff supply fell was strong overall, but remained weaker than the UK economy average.

Continuing the trend observed throughout the past two yers, temporary wage inflation was evident in the North in August.

According to the latest recruitment industry survey, permanent salaries in the North rose for the thirtieth consecutive month in August.

Kevin Green, REC CEO, said: “It’s more great news for people looking for work this month, as we see more people being placed into jobs across all regions and sectors including construction, IT and engineering.

“The jobs market is often criticised for being London-centric but our data shows that rates of growth for both permanent starting salaries and temp pay rates are faster in the South, Midlands and North this month. Recruiters tell us that the driver behind this increase is the competition to attract and retain the skilled people outside London.

“While immigration has increased according to government figures, this clearly has had little impact on the jobs market. As skills shortages increase and employers struggle to find the people they need, politicians from all parties should focus on ensuring that we have a visa and immigration regime that supports UK businesses.”

Image Credit: IB Times

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .