Average advertised salaries faltered in September, recording a marginal month on month fall (down 0.23%), across administrative and non professional services roles, according to Office Angels and the latest data from mysalarychecker.com.*
As the number of those seeking employment continues to rise, employers are increasingly able to take advantage of an accessible pool of available talent, keen to secure work and prepared to negotiate on salary.
However, while advertised salaries in job vacancies are showing signs of stalling, there are still some roles that are performing well. Office managers continued to command the highest average salaries (£29, 352) of all administrative and non professional services roles last month, recording annual growth of 3.67% in September. However, despite maintaining positive annual growth, even office managers saw their average salary fall marginally month on month in September (down 0.15%).
Customer service roles have seen the greatest fall in average advertised salaries, down 6.59% on the previous year and 0.19% month on month. In the temporary jobs market, average salaries are also stalling, remaining unchanged from the previous month. Office managers continue to command the highest hourly rate (£17 per hour), while retail salaries remain one of the lowest (at £6 per hour). Hourly rates for customer service roles have remained stable at £8 per hour.
David Clubb, Managing Director of Office Angels, commented:
“As the economic uncertainty continues, average advertised salaries are faltering across the board. While there will always be some roles that prove more robust and demand higher salaries, the reality is that in the current climate demand for roles outstrips supply, meaning employers are no-longer under the same pressure to offer higher salaries to secure strong candidates.”
The best and worst performers
Clubb continues: “While a number of administrative and non professional services roles are undoubtedly struggling, office manager positions are faring well. It is no surprise that over recent years we have seen the profile and responsibilities for office managers increase considerably, as employers place a growing importance on what is fast becoming a pivotal role within any business. This trend is particularly evident within smaller businesses, where we are seeing office managers take on more responsibility and increasingly senior positions as they get involved in all aspects of company management, from the day to day running of the office to dealing with aspects of HR, IT and even finance. As a result, we would expect to see salaries for this role remain relatively stable, despite the marginal decrease recorded last month.
“In contrast, customer service roles have recorded a notable fall in average advertised salaries year on year. Typically one of the few areas of the jobs market where there are always vacancies, customer service roles (especially those that are call centre based) are increasingly being filled by young people entering the workforce, who see this as a stop gap while they search for another position . As a result, employers effectively have an accessible and available pool of candidates on tap, which means that salaries are unlikely to increase in the short term.”
Customer service roles take greatest hit in the North East, but office managers perform well
Office manager roles are the highest paid of all administrative and non professional services roles in the North East, with an average advertised salary of £27,113. In September, average salaries for office managers recorded an annual increase of 4.4% – one of the strongest annual increases recorded across the country. Office manager roles also continue to command the highest hourly rate for temporary positions – £14 per hour.
Customer service roles recorded the greatest fall in average salaries in the North East last month, down 3.53% year on year, making it the lowest paid administrative and non professional services role after receptionist roles.
Credit: onrec.com
