Starting salaries in Scotland drop as fastest pace in almost two decades

Starting salaries in Scotland have dropped at their fastest pace in almost two decades, a key report today suggests.

The report, compiled by IHS Markit, is based on a survey of some 100 recruitment and employment consultants.

Royal Bank of Scotland’s “report on jobs” found that new joiner salaries for permanent staff were at their lowest rate last month since the survey began in 2003.

The salary drop comes as staff appointed to permanent and temporary jobs continued to fall, with respondents postponing hiring decisions amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Sebastian Burnside, chief economist at RBS, said: “Labour market conditions in Scotland remained weak during June, with the latest data highlighting further marked reductions in both permanent placements and temporary billings.

“That said, the rates of decline did soften slightly as parts of the economy look to reopen as a result of easing lockdown restrictions.

“Meanwhile, vacancies continued to decline substantially, with the falls in both permanent and temporary vacancies surpassing their respective pre-coronavirus records despite softening from May.

“As demand for candidates dropped again, starting pay came under further pressure, with starting salaries declining at the sharpest rate in more than 17 years of data collection. Overall, the short-term outlook for the Scottish labour market remains extremely challenging with the biggest uncertainty being firms’ responses to the closure of the furlough scheme.”

The report found that permanent appointments fell for the fifth month in a row. The contraction eased from May but remained rapid and quicker than the pre-coronavirus record.

People securing temporary jobs dropped for the seventh consecutive month but the decline was the slowest rate since February.

The report, compiled by IHS Markit, is based on a survey of some 100 recruitment and employment consultants.

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