Demand for new staff at Scottish firms picks up, report says

Demand for new staff at Scottish firms picked up last month, a bank has said, with the jobs market showing no sign of cooling.

The Royal Bank of Scotland’s monthly report on jobs showed a near-record rise in hiring activity north of the border in February, with demand for people to fill temporary positions accelerating from January’s 17-month low.

Sebastian Burnside, chief economist at the bank, said that “midway through the first quarter of the year, the labour market remains in a strong position with no signs that momentum is cooling”.

“The Scottish labour market recorded a further strong uplift in hiring activity in February, as a further near-record rise in permanent staff appointments occurred alongside a sharp pick-up in temp billings,” he said.

“At the same time, candidate availability continued to decrease rapidly for both permanent and temp staff, albeit at a softer rate than in January, while vacancy growth accelerated.”

For the fifteenth month running, average salaries given to new starters in permanent roles rose – with inflation quickening for the first time in three months.

The bank said businesses reported a shortage of suitable candidates, which resulted in an upwards pressure on pay.

And in the February data released by the Edinburgh-based bank on Thursday, it showed there was a near-record rise in permanent placements.

Firms said the improved confidence was behind the surge, with Scotland seeing a quicker rise in permanent placements than the UK-wide average in February.

And in temp billings, an eighteenth straight monthly rise was recorded, amid reports that companies were beginning new projects and demanded more staff.

The rate of increase picked up from January’s low and was sharp overall.

Across the UK as a whole, temp billings rose at a softer pace compared to January, though the upturn continued to outpace that seen in Scotland.