The latest report on jobs from the Bank of Scotland confirms many other economic indicators which have appeared in the past few weeks. It suggests that the number of permanent appointments made by Scottish companies has started to accelerate. The Labour Market Barometer for June shows several distinct improvements. For example, it shows the strongest rise in permanent salaries since September 2007 – and overall, it suggests that Scottish job market conditions have significantly improved over the past year.
Professor Donald Macrae
Bank of Scotland
The barometer was designed to provide a single figure snapshot of labour market conditions. Taking 50 as a starting base rate, anything above that figure represents a positive improvement. This latest report shows a sharp rise from May – up to 58.5 from 57.4. This increase was the greatest since October 2007.
According to Donald MacRae, Chief Economist at the Bank of Scotland, “both the number of people appointed to permanent and temporary jobs rose in the month accompanied by sharp rises in vacancies. Improvement in job market conditions was spread across all sectors. The results signal a further strengthening of recovery in the Scottish economy and bowled well pre-employment throughout 2013.”
Aberdeen saw the strongest rise in permanent placements for the second month running; Dundee saw the fastest increase in temporary staff billings.