Permanent Jobs Up In Scotland

More Scots were offered permanent jobs in March. according to latest figures.

The Bank of Scotland jobs report also shows a sharp growth in permanent salaries and a rise in demand for staff overall. Official employment figures released last week show 2 million 615 thousand Scots are now in work.

It also showed continued growth of staff placements in Scotland during March, albeit the pace of increase eased. Similarly, demand for staff rose but at a slower rate. That said, starting salaries continued to rise sharply, in part reflecting a lack of available candidates. Highlighting an overall improvement in the health of Scotland’s labour market, the Bank of Scotland Labour Market Barometer registered 60.6 in March, up from 59.8 in February. This was the barometer’s highest reading in three months, albeit one that was below the corresponding index for the UK as a whole. Donald MacRae, Chief Economist at Bank of Scotland, said:

“Conditions in the Scottish labour market continued to improve in March this year.  The number of people appointed to jobs increased while the number of vacancies grew over the month.  

The rate of growth in starting salaries for permanent jobs recovered strongly from February’s 15-month low.  This Barometer suggests the slowdown in growth in January to March will be reversed in the coming months.”