Mon, 21 May 2012

As staff availability fell, the number of new permanent jobs in Scotland in April increased at the fastest rate since April 2011, and temporary roles at the strongest rate since January 2011.

This is according the Bank of Scotland’s ‘Labour Market Barometer’, compiled by Markit and based on a monthly survey of over 100 recruiters.

The number of people available to take on temporary roles declined for the first time since June 2008, while for the second month in a row, and the fifth month in the last six, the number of permanent staff available also dropped.

IT & computing, followed by secretarial & clerical, were the sectors with the greatest demand for both temporary and permanent staff overall.

While nursing, medical & care was the sector with the third-strongest demand for contract staff, it was the sector with the lowest demand in permanent roles.

Edinburgh saw the strongest rise in permanent appointments, Glasgow the strongest in temp billings. Edinburgh was also the city with the fastest rates of pay inflation on both sides, but in both cases pay inflation was at a three-month low.