A large improvement in the health of the UK job market means good news for many sectors, according to Reed’s October Job Index.

The Index stands at 129 for the month of October, an eight point rise on September, bringing the number of job opportunities back to levels seen at the start of 2011.

The index also shows that employer demand is up by 23% compared to last year.

While all regions of the UK saw a rise in job numbers, the rise was most pronounced in Wales (index up 12 points), London (+10) and Scotland (+10), but even the slowest-growing regions (East Anglia, North East England, North West England) registered rises of 6 points.

Charities and the voluntary sector saw a huge rise of 43 points on the Index, with IT and telecoms the second highest riser (index up 24 points) and transport and logistics in third place (+19). Banking, energy, engineering, estate agency, general insurance, purchasing, scientific, social care and training all registered rises of over 10 points.

The energy and estate agency sectors lead salary increases with seven points each.

But the Index also provided some bad news, including for the recruitment sector itself.

The only sector to see a double-digit decrease was security and safety (10 points down), with leisure and tourism and manufacturing down eight and six points respectively, the only other falls of over five points.

Overall, salaries for new placements remain 3% lower than December 2009 levels.

Recruitment consultants tied with motors and automotives workers for the worst-hit salaries, both sectors down five points.

Martin Warnes, managing director of reed.co.uk, says: “We do need to be careful not to get carried away by one month’s figures, especially as this increase only brings us back to the level of demand for new staff that the UK was experiencing in the spring.  

“Nevertheless, the rise suggests a return of employer optimism to a level not seen for the last eight months.”