Fall In Job Vacancy Candidates

15 September 2014, 06:22

There was a record fall in the number of people available to fill permanent job vacancies last month, a survey has found.

The latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs saw the sharpest deterioration in the availability of candidates for permanent jobs since the survey began almost 12 years ago.

However, experts said Scotland's labour market continued to go from strength to strength in August with continued growth in staff appointments despite a lack of available candidates.

Stronger demand for staff among businesses remained the underlying factor behind the ongoing labour market recovery, with the latest data showing further sharp increases in both permanent and temporary job vacancies during August, according to the bank.

Demand for permanent staff was strongest in the nursing, medical and care sector while the most marked rise in temporary staff demand was noted in the engineering and construction industry.

There was also further growth in remuneration as permanent salaries rose at a sharp rate that was just below July's series record while temporary pay also increased.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "August's barometer returned a strong reading showing a rising number of people appointed to both permanent and temporary jobs.

"There was a record drop in people available for jobs and growing evidence of strong growth in pay confirming the tightening of the jobs market.

"The economic recovery continues with business confidence remaining high.''

The bank's labour market barometer registered 67.1 in August, down slightly from July's survey-record high of 67.3, but above the equivalent UK index.

The barometer measures areas such as levels of staff demand, employment and wages to create a single figure snapshot of labour market conditions and the figure is measured against a baseline of 50, with anything above 50 representing an improvement and anything below a deterioration.

Permanent candidate availability deteriorated to the greatest extent in Glasgow while temporary candidate supply fell fastest in Dundee.

Glasgow led broad-based growth in both permanent starting salaries and hourly pay rates for temporary staff, the data showed.

The survey is based on information provided by a panel of 105 recruitment consultancies operating in Scotland.