Jobs surge suggests Scotland may avoid double-dip recession

THE Scottish jobs market saw a strong rebound in permanent hirings last month, fuelling hopes that Scotland will avoid a double-dip recession and continue a gradual recovery instead, a new survey out today suggests.

Scotland saw the fastest rise in permanent placements in February since last October, the report said, with growth faster than that reported across the UK overall. The biggest increase in permanent staff placements was in Dundee, while the fastest rise in temps hired was in Edinburgh.

“The number of candidates placed into permanent and temporary work both increased, with growth strong and faster than that reported across the UK overall,” the latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs said.

Firms largely attributed the rise to “greater client demand”, again implying the Scottish economy is on the mend.

Average permanent salaries also increased “modestly” last month, the report said, while permanent candidate availability rose for the first time in four months.

The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Barometer – designed to show a single figure snapshot of labour market conditions – registered 52.4 in February, signalling “a solid improvement in Scotland’s jobs market”.

That compared with a figure of 50.4 in January, the biggest monthly jump since last October.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “Scotland’s labour market showed an important improvement in February.

“Not only did the number of people placed into jobs rise, but salaries for permanent jobs increased at a modest rate.”

MacRae added that the deterioration evident in the Scottish jobs market from April last year “appears to have been arrested at the beginning of this year”.

He said: “This latest barometer reading suggests the Scottish economy is continuing a slow recovery from recession rather than lapsing back into recession.”

The report said that Glasgow was the only region to post a lower number of candidates seeking permanent work. Glasgow and the other three main Scottish regions in the report, around Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, all had higher temp availability in February.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said: “There are encouraging signs in this month’s survey, with the barometer showing the 16th consecutive monthly improvement in labour market conditions in Scotland, and the highest rate of improvement since last October.”

The report said permanent salaries rose most in the oil city of Aberdeen, while temp hourly rates increased at the fastest pace in Dundee, followed by Glasgow. The increase in temp pay rates was at the highest since October.

Though growth of demand for permanent staff was at a four-month high, it “nonetheless remained weaker than the long-run series average,” today’s report says.

IT and computing led the way in the seven sectors posting a larger number of permanent job vacancies in Scotland. The next six in order were executive and professional; engineering and construction; hotel and catering; blue collar; accounts and financial, and nursing and medical care. Scottish recruitment agencies only reported a decline in the secretarial and clerical sector.