The largest monthly measure of conditions and trends in employment opportunities in the UK now stands at 155 – its highest level since the index began in 2009 and 10% higher than its previous best of 141 in May 2012.
February saw over 12% month on month growth in new job opportunities, the third highest monthly surge ever recorded, with 31 out of the 33 sectors measuring stronger than in January. Indeed an impressive 6 out of ten sectors grew by more than 10% month on month.
Most notable for growth year on year were the charity and voluntary, social care and education sectors, each recording impressive increases of 66%, 45% and 41% respectively.
The continued upward trend is being mirrored across the UK with every region now stronger than this time last month and 11 out of 12 areas offering more opportunities on an annual basis. The West Midlands recorded the strongest growth year on year growth, followed by North East England and the East Midlands. The London jobs market also continues to impress, with the number of new opportunities in the capital up by 10% year on year.
Overall, the Reed Job Index now stands at 155, compared with 138 last month and 140 in December 2012.
While there was a small monthly increase in salaries of 1%, broadly speaking, remuneration is seen to be falling on an annual basis, with salaries on average 2.5% lower than they were in 2012.
Commenting on the latest figures, Martin Warnes, managing director of reed.co.uk, says:
“The latest Reed Job Index figures provide further confirmation of robust and continued growth in the employment market. The vast majority of sectors and regions are consistently offering more opportunities and we enter the busy spring recruitment period with some optimism.
“Notably, though salaries grew slightly over the past month, our latest figures confirm remuneration is falling in real terms, as recent Office for National Statistics figures have confirmed. So, whilst the recovery in the jobs market continues to give solid grounds for optimism, the situation for many families across the UK remains challenging.
“There will be setbacks on the road to recovery and economic growth is proving to be slow. However, the growth in the jobs market has been a shining light over the last year and we continue to call on policy makers to help practically energise a true jobs led recovery for the UK.”
Credit: onrec.com
