According to the Reed Job Index, job opportunities across the UK
rose more sharply in February than in January, up 17 Index points
month-on-month, while salaries are back to the level of 23 months
ago.
The report, which examines trends from more than 8,000 UK
recruiters, gives a Reed Job Index reading of 140, the highest
since the index began and 40 percent above the level of December
2009 when a 100 baseline was set.
Salaries for new jobs also rose in February, with the Reed Salary
Index up two index points compared to January, to read 100, the
highest since March 2010. Salary increases in areas such as
retail, banking, customer services, consultancy and training are
largely responsible for this growth.
Employer demand in all regions grew in February, boosting the
index as a whole. The north west of England and Northern Ireland
have shown the greatest month-on-month increases with a fifth
more jobs on offer now compared with January, while new London
jobs are up 12 index points (10 percent) year-on-year.
Martin Warnes, Reed.co.uk managing director was encouraged by the
findings, “especially as this growth has been spread across
a wide range of employment sectors and in every UK region”.
Further, he added, “salaries have finally returned to the
levels of late-2009 which may provide some relief to employees
whose income has been squeezed in recent years.”
When it comes to green shoots, Warnes takes a cautious stance,
“The jobs market does remain challenging and before we can
talk about a return to growth, we would want to see job creation
strengthening over the coming months.”
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