Record Rise In Salary Rates

Pressure is growing in the Scottish jobs market, according to the latest industry report.

The Bank of Scotland analysis for June shows salary inflation is at a record high since they began taking records.

The survey of more than 100 firms shows salaries in Scotland have been pushed to their highest level in over 11 years.

A growth in demand for workers led to a record drop in the number of candidates able to work on permanent contracts.

Increased vacancies also helped drive an rise in staff placements, with appointments of permanent employees and temps both rising at faster rates.

Donald MacRae, Chief Economist at Bank of Scotland, said June’s Barometer reached a record high in the eleven and a half years of the survey.  

He said: "The number of people appointed to jobs increased while vacancies grew at a robust rate. The number of candidates available for both permanent and temporary jobs fell accompanied by a record rise in starting salaries.  The recovery in the Scottish economy looks set to continue.”

Financy Secretary John Swinney welcomed the figures.

He said: “This report follows on from last week’s positive GDP and labour market figures, which showed that Scotland’s economy is now back above pre-recession levels and employment levels are at their highest since records began, with 2,587,000 people now employed in Scotland.

“While the survey highlights salary inflation, we have to remember that this is against a backdrop of real wages falling continuously over the last six years and average pay in Scotland falling back to 2005 levels.

“It is essential that everyone is able to benefit from our new economic growth and with the full economic powers of independence there is much more we could do to further strengthen our economy and give business access to the human skills they need to grow and to create even more jobs.”