The recovery in Scotland’s labour market “moved up a gear” last month, according to a new study from the Bank of Scotland.
The latest instalment of the lender’s monthly Report on Jobs a long-running national survey of recruitment consultants found record increases in both the number of permanent posts filled by agencies during July and starting salaries candidates were able to demand.
It said the encouraging news was based on a “strong and broad-based” demand for staff, as business continues to pick up for firms previously hammered by the financial crisis and subsequent economic slowdown.
But the study also found a further “sharp” drop in the number of candidates for vacancies, which the bank said had fallen continuously since early 2012.
Its Labour Market Barometer, a composite indicator designed to provide a single figure snapshot of labour conditions, hit its highest-ever level at 67.3 up on last month’s 65.1 and well ahead of the 50 reading which represents a flatlining jobs market.
The results were also up on the equivalent UK index for the first time in four month, though the performance was only fractionally better.
Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae said the results were “further proof” of a continuing recovery.
“The month saw survey-record increases in both the number of people appointed to permanent jobs and in starting salaries,” he said.
“Demand for both permanent and temporary staff was expressed by a surge in vacancies accompanied by a drop in the number of candidates available.
“These trends should lead to further gains in employment and eventually to an increase in overall earnings growth.
“The Scottish economy continues to recover strongly.”
The survey’s results, published today, come just days after the Bank of England halved its wage growth forecast to its slowest pace since records began.