The second consecutive rise in the Reed Job Index suggests the UK economy may be rebalancing towards the industrial sector, according to James Reed, chairman of reed.co.uk.

Following the news that the Index rose to its highest level for 23 months in November, Reed says: “There are even signs that the British economy is rebalancing towards the industrial sector, with demand for technical staff such as engineering and IT specialists 90% higher now than when our Index began 23 months ago.”

The Index rose to 133 in November as job opportunities grew rapidly. This is three points higher than October and 22 points higher than a year ago, bucking the recent trend of gloomy economic news.

Growth in new jobs has been led by London, the South-East and the North-West, and has risen in more than half of the UK areas covered by the Index.

However, five out of the 12 areas, including Wales, the North-East of England and Scotland, show falls in employer demand in November.

Compared with October, among the sectors that saw a double-digit rise in the Index were: accountancy, leisure and tourism, manufacturing and scientific.

In contrast, public sector recruitment has fallen back six points (5%) in November compared to October, to give a subdued Reed Public Sector Job Index level of 60 points.