The Reed Job Index of online job postings rose by 9% in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the same quarter in 2011, suggesting a solid underlying economic recovery.
The UK labour market is heading in the right direction, according to the latest Reed Job Index. Vacancies increased by 9% in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the same period last year, whilst there was a 6% increase between Q4 2011 and Q1 2012. This rise in job vacancies suggests the UK economy may be well placed to avoid a double dip recession.
The Reed Job Index report is a leading provider of up-to-the-minute insight into the conditions and trends in the UK labour market and is based on data collected from over 10,000 UK companies advertising on reed.co.uk. The report tracks the number of new jobs and salaries on offer each month against a baseline of 100 set in December 2009. The monthly report analyses data across 37 industry sectors and 12 UK regions and is a leading indicator for future economic growth.
The engineering sector registered another robust, job-creating performance after reaching its highest level in March 2012 since the index was set in December 2009. Other employment sectors driving this growth include IT, construction, motoring and purchasing.
The East Midlands was the UK’s leading region by measure of year-on-year growth, while Scotland and Northern Ireland were the only areas to report a decline in employer demand compared with February.
Commenting on the figures, Martin Warnes, Managing Director of reed.co.uk said:
“The latest Reed Job Index shows that job creation has been strong during the first three months of the year. It represents a strong improvement on the same period last year and supports the growing confidence in the UK’s economic recovery which was expressed this week by both the PMI and the British Chambers of Commerce.
“Employers in technical and manufacturing sectors are driving this recovery and are taking on more staff now compared to a year ago. Led by an upbeat engineering sector, these industries are showing intent to plan sustainable futures by increasing staff. A boost to the number of new construction jobs available also gives hope that a sustained economic recovery is on the cards.
“But we mustn’t forget that, for a lot of people, finding work continues to be a real struggle, whilst the cost to business of employing staff remains a barrier to recruitment. The budget may have been seen as friendly to business, but the taxation burden of actually employing staff remains high which needs to be addressed by policy makers to assist continued job growth and a sustained job-led recovery.”
Credit: onrec.com
