Scots permanent staff placements rise in November in contrast to UK drop

Permanent staff placements rose for the first time in five months in November, offering a tentative sign of recovery in Scottish labour market conditions – and outperforming the UK as a whole, according to a report published today.

The latest RBS Report on Jobs found that temporary billings also stepped up. Picture: AFP.

The latest Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Report on Jobs found that temporary billings also stepped up, although the rate of increase eased to a modest pace.

For the first time since June, recruitment consultancies across Scotland signalled a jump in the number of permanent staff placements in November. “The uptick was only marginal overall, however, and softer than the series historical average”, the Edinburgh-based bank said.

However, there was a fall at the UK level, where permanent placements declined for a ninth consecutive month.Meanwhile, temporary staff billings rose across Scotland last month, as has been the case in all but one of the past 23 months – but the pace of increase eased from October and was only marginal overall.

Nonetheless, growth in Scotland continued to outpace the UK average.

Softer growth

RBS – led by chief executive Alison Rose – also saw signs of softer growth in starting ­salaries across Scotland. Meanwhile, the supply of temporary candidates in Scotland also fell in November, with the rate of deterioration quickening to the fastest since June.

Sebastian Burnside, chief economist at RBS, welcomed the rise in permanent placements, but said political uncertainty continued to “weigh heavily” on firms’ ­hiring ­decisions.

He said: “Subdued hiring trends were also seen for short-term workers, as temporary billings growth eased to the softest in five months.

“Nevertheless, Scotland outperformed the UK as a whole in November as permanent placements at the national ­level declined for the ninth consecutive month.

“Meanwhile, labour demand and supply imbalances led to further increases in pay, though overall pay pressures showed signs of softening in November.”

The RBS report comes after recruitment website CV-Library found that Scottish companies have slowed down their hiring efforts in the run up to the general election. The number of job ads fell by 14.4 per cent month-on-month during November.