Contractor demand growth in Scotland slowed during January 2014, although all core contracting disciplines remained well into growth territory, shows the latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs.
However, the steadier market did not prevent falling contractor availability and another month of rate rises, the eleventh successive month that rates have increased.
And the composite index of contractor and permanent recruitment that provides a snapshot of Scotland’s labour market’s health, the Bank of Scotland Labour Market Barometer, has reached levels not seen since before the recession.
Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae explains: “January [2014] showed a further marked improvement in Scotland’s labour market, returning the Barometer to pre-crisis levels of 2007.The number of people appointed to both permanent and temporary jobs increased rapidly while vacancies rose sharply across all sectors.”
Despite the ongoing strong contracting performance in Scotland, some interesting dynamics are emerging in the different core disciplines. IT & computing has remained in second place, but demand growth for IT contractors fell between December 2013 and January 2014.
January saw engineering drop three places from third to seventh, just ahead of the blue collar sector languishing in eighth place for the second month running. Both of these categories are heavily influenced by oil and gas sector demand.
Are these early indications of a slow-down in North Sea hiring, or could it be an acute shortage of available candidates? Aberdeen “posted the sharpest drop in temporary candidate supply”, which suggests it could be the latter reason.
Accounts and financial, representing contractors working in Scotland’s financial sector, showed a strong surge in demand growth and rose from sixth place to fourth. This sector also grew fastest on the permanent side, indicating that the rebound of the UK’s financial sector is gaining pace.
In contrast, Scotland’s interim market may be weakening slightly. The executive and professional category slid from fifth into seventh place, and demand growth slowed markedly.
MacRae concludes: “The recovery in the Scottish economy is not only continuing but is strengthening as we enter 2014.”