Scottish contract market continues to strengthen

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Scottish contract market continues to strengthen

Posted Jul 5, 2010

The latest Bank of Scotland 'Report on Jobs' suggests that the contract market north of the border is continuing to strengthen, albeit at a slower pace than earlier in the year.

Appointments in both the permanent and temporary sectors increased during May, while the number of vacancies available to job seekers also rose markedly.

However, the report also found evidence that the labour market recovery lost some momentum in May, with employment and pay rising at weaker rates, while candidate availability growth accelerated.

All eight categories of contract/temporary employment recorded rises during May 2010, with IT & Computing leading the pack, followed by the Engineering & Construction and Executive / Professional sectors.

The latest monthly data also highlighted a modest rise in contract/temp staff hourly pay rates. Although the latest rise extended the current sequence of growth to five months, the pace of increase was the weakest since January.

Donald MacRae, Chief Economist at Bank of Scotland, commented:

"This month's increase in appointments in both permanent and temporary jobs, as well as the rise in the number of vacancies available, is a sign that the Scottish labour market is in recovery. This recovery did lose momentum in May however, with employment and pay rising at weaker rates. While the headline index reading remains solid, it is well below the figure recorded for the UK as a whole. We can expect a continuing but muted recovery from recession, with some time before unemployment starts to fall."

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