Recruitment agencies are placing a growing number of people in permanent jobs, leaving a shortfall of suitable candidates in some parts of the country.
According to the Bank of Scotland’s latest report on jobs, recruitment agencies reported a marked rise in permanent placements last month.
The news is a further boost for the employment market, after figures released last week revealed a huge drop in the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance in Tayside, Fife and the Forth Valley.
Although the rate of growth was slower than the record highs of the previous two months, the report said the increase reflected continued demand from clients rising overall to its highest for almost two and a half years.
Growth in temporary billings eased over the month.
Meanwhile, average pay rose markedly, with salaries for permanent placements, in particular, increasing at the fastest pace since mid-2007.
The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Barometer, a composite indicator designed to provide a single-figure snapshot of labour market conditions, picked up slightly last month, rising to 60.0 from 59.7 in August.
This was only marginally below July’s near six-year peak of 60.3, and signalled a marked improvement in Scottish job market conditions.
Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae said: “September’s Labour Market Barometer showed a continuing improvement in Scottish job market conditions.
“The number of people appointed to both permanent and temporary jobs increased while growth in vacancies was marked.
“The engineering and construction sectors saw the highest rate of vacancy growth for almost two and a half years.
“This is further welcome evidence of the strengthening of the recovery in the Scottish economy.”
Aberdeen saw the strongest increase in permanent placements, while Dundee had the greatest rise in temporary appointments.
Recruiters in Dundee also reported the sharpest deterioration in the number of candidates available for permanent jobs, while the number of people looking for temporary work also fell.
The demand for staff led to the “marked” rise in permanent salaries, with the fastest rate of wage inflation observed in six years.
Demand for permanent staff rose across all eight employment sectors, with demand highest in the engineering and construction and IT and computing industries.