Working in recruitment can pay off. That's one part of the picture revealed in the 2007 edition of the annual recruitment industry salary survey, conducted by BMG Research on behalf of the REC, Recruiter and accountancy firm Saffery Champness.

The survey results, featured from p25, reveal that UK recruiters continue to earn salaries at levels above the national average.

This year, the second in which the salary survey has been conducted, light is shed upon remuneration for consultants and managers working in the construction, driving, education/ teaching, hospitality and technical/engineering recruitment sectors.

"These sectors represent some of the most active in recruitment," said Recruiter editor DeeDee Doke. "And competition is fierce in those sectors today, not only for great candidates, but for great recruiters."

Pay is good for hospitality recruiters currently because professionals from industry, such as bar and restaurant managers, are switching teams to join recruitment agency staffs, said Matt Barrett, managing director of Leeds-based SVB Recruitment. "All of our staff are ex-hospitality operators," he added.

The figures revealed in the survey generally reflect the state of their respective sectors, recruiters agreed. However, Martyn Makinson, a director at construction recruiter Bromak, pointed out that one shift that went unnoticed is a sharp increase in trainees' salaries recently.

"Four-and-a-half years ago, basic salary for trainees was £13-13,500. Now you're paying them £16-17,000."

• The full report will be available this autumn. For information on how to obtain your copy of the REC/Recruiter/Saffery Champness 2007 Salary Survey, contact Roger Tweedy, the REC's director of research. He can be reached by email at [email protected]