Permanent professional roles hit two year high

Jo Faragher

Permanent placements in the professional jobs market are up by a third compared to last year, according to research from APSCo and Staffing Industry Analysts.

The number of vacancies has also increased strongly year-on-year, going up 18%, with the most placements made in finance and engineering.

Permanent placements and vacancies rose by 39% and 24% respectively in finance compared with last year, while in engineering, placements jumped 41% and vacancies were up 30% year-on-year.

In temporary and contract recruitment, placements went up by 10%.

On the whole, salaries decreased slightly year-on-year, by 1.7%, except for finance and engineering, where salaries increased by 7% and 2% respectively.

Ann Swain, APSCo’s chief executive, remarked that the latest figures showed a ‘triple peak’. She said: “A ‘triple peak’ in the latest key economic indicators is fantastic news and confirms that there is now real momentum behind the UK’s current growth.”

She added that recruitment companies were performing a critical role in providing labour market flexibility and access to rare skills.

John Nurthen, executive director for international development at Staffing Industry Analysts, which compiles the report for APSCo, said: “The data for this month does seem to suggest that the professional recruitment market is firing on all cylinders.”

“Recruiters now have to cope with the novelty of escalating demand after many years just focused on beating down costs. Because of the lessons learnt during the downturn, the recruitment industry today is more efficient and more effective than the one that entered the financial crisis in 2008 and is in a much better position to capitalise on these positive trends.”