The number of people placed in permanent jobs by recruitment agencies in Scotland increased for the fourth straight month in March.
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This is according to the latest Markit Report on Jobs: Scotland, with data
also showing a pick-up in demand for staff. Pay rewards continued to rise, albeit at a slower rate than the month before, while the availability of candidates for vacancies was reported to have worsened.
In line with the trend observed since last December, recruiters operating in Scotland recorded a rise in permanent placements during March.
The rate of increase was solid and faster than the UK-wide average, despite having eased since February when it reached a seven-month high.
Meanwhile, growth in temporary billings north of the border remained only modest and was slower than the average across the UK as a whole.
One factor leading placements and billings to rise was a strengthening of demand for staff among Scottish businesses. March saw the sharpest growth in demand for permanent staff for six months, while the latest increase in temporary job openings was the most marked since December 2014.
The job-types which exhibited the strongest growth in demand were Nursing/Medical/Care, IT & Computing and Hotel & Catering. In contrast, there were falls in demand for Executive & Professional and Blue Collar workers.
Permanent salaries showed a further increase in March, as did hourly rates of pay for temporary staff. However, on both fronts the rates of inflation were slightly slower than the month before and below the respective UK-wide averages.
March’s survey meanwhile pointed to a tightening of the Scottish labour market, with the availability of candidates deteriorating further. Moreover, the extent to which permanent candidate numbers decreased in March was the most marked since July last year.
The availability of candidates for temp vacancies likewise deteriorated during the month, albeit to a lesser degree than in February. ■
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