The Bank of Scotland’s Labour Market Barometer has seen the sharpest rise in permanent staff placements in its ten year history. It reports that employment is at four-year high with clear signs of what it describes as a Scottish ‘growth spurt’. In July, it found a strong increase in vacancies for both permanent and temporary jobs, indicating a rise in business confidence which could translate into further recovery in the Scottish economy.
Professor Donald Macrae
Bank of Scotland
This survey is the latest in a series of economic indicators showing an improvement. Earlier this month, another of the Bank’s surveys – the Purchasing Managers Index – suggested that companies were winning new orders and firms preparing to take on extra staff. This was confirmed just last week when official figures showed the number of Scots in work at its highest level for more than four years.
The survey found that recruiters in Aberdeen reported the strongest increases in both permanent and temporary staff placements. However, permanent staff availability in Glasgow deteriorated over the month. Demand for permanent staff grew in seven out of eight employment sectors, led by IT & Computing, the only exception was in ‘Blue Collar’ work.
The Bank’s chief economist, Professor Donald MacRae, stressed that “vacancy growth was marked in the engineering and construction sector. These results suggest rising business confidence is translating into a continuation of the recovery in the Scottish economy this summer.”