The pace of growth for the Scottish job market slowed slightly in January, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report.

However, the report found that the Scottish labour market continued to perform better than the UK average.

Growth in temporary and contract/staff pay in particular was above the mean UK figure.

Accounts and financial staff recorded the strongest demand among permanent employees in Scotland, while IT and computing were most in demand in the temporary worker market.

Aberdeen posted the strongest growth for both permanent and temporary appointments in January, while permanent staff salaries rose fastest in Edinburgh.

“The Scottish jobs market continued to grow in January but at a slightly slower pace than at the end of last year," said Tim Crawford, group economist at Bank of Scotland.

“While demand for staff remains firm, low levels of staff availability means jobs are taking longer to fill. In this environment, wages continue to rise at a faster rate than the UK average.”