Mixed jobs report for Scotland

Permanent staff appointments rose last month at their quickest pace since October 2014, according to the latest Scottish Report on Jobs today.

However, in a mixed report from IHS Markit, it was said that recruiters continue to report “deteriorating candidate availability and worsening skills shortages”.

It comes as Kevin Green, CEO of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, called for the government to ensure that the UK labour market remains successful in 2018 by offering “certainty for EU workers that are already here, such as nurses, warehouse staff and chefs, so that employers can plan ahead”.

The report said permanent placements and temp billings both rose “markedly” in November, but starting salaries lifted by the weakest extent since June.

Demand for permanent staff in Scotland was slightly weaker than for the UK as a whole, while temp vacancies grew at a broadly similar pace to the national average.

Green said: “Despite the current uncertainties caused by Brexit and political turmoil, recruiters are placing more people into jobs.

“In Scotland, recruiters have placed more candidates in November than in any other month in the past three years. Recruiters also continue to report deteriorating candidate availability and worsening skills shortages.

“Having less access to candidates can have severe effects, restricting businesses’ ability to grow which means they won’t be able to create jobs or increase pay for staff.”

The availability of temporary staff fell at the softest pace in the current ten-month sequence of contraction, while permanent candidate supply declined at the slowest rate since April.