December 2004 job creation index (JCI) figures released 38 332 positions created

Over 38,300 jobs were created across the UKís 21 key industries and as the year drew to a close, December 2004 can be regarded as a positive month for job creation with 7,447 positions created in comparison to December 2003. Looking at the year in total, the Healthcare and Retail industries have excelled as the key employment front-runners for 2004 with Healthcare achieving a total JCI of 61, one of the highest figures for a vertical whilst Retail emerged with almost 147,000 positions created in 2004.

The JCI figures are determined by comparing the number of jobs created within UK industrial sectors each month with the number of jobs created for the corresponding month in the previous year. The JCI figure shows individual industry performance, measured as a percentage above or below the number of jobs created from a year ago. From these figures, the following trends have been highlighted:
Decemberís Front Runners

Food and Drink ñ The Christmas festivities gave this sector a surge of job creation at the end of 2004. As the party season got into full swing Food and Drink saw a December JCI of 1191, representing in excess of 1,600 jobs

Household Products ñ With the annual furniture sales beginning the Household sector gears up for its busiest month with a job creation of 1621

Healthcare ñ 2004ís big success has been the Healthcare sector. It has been a front runner for 75% of 2004 and ends the year with a JCI of 1621, the most successful sector in December 2004

Retail ñ This sector has seen almost 147,000 positions created in 2004, the highest number of jobs created for a specific vertical

Decemberís Chasers

Media and Marketing ñ This sector suffered a disappointing year and despite the huge demand for jobs in this sector by graduates, the sector has continued to decline in the number of jobs created with a JCI of ñ1 in December

Textiles and Clothing ñ After Novemberís surge in job creation for this sector with 5,053 positions created, December saw a downturn with no jobs created in this sector arguably a result of the numerous sales seen on the high street

Richard MacMillan, Managing Director of Adecco UK and Ireland said: ìAs we move from 2004 to 2005 we can begin to draw conclusions on the job creation figures for all the verticals. One of the most successful sectors has been Healthcare, which has been a front-runner for 75% of 2004. This success can be supported by the demand Adecco has seen for Health Care workers. As a result Adecco has set up 14 Health and Social Care branches across the country to meet this demand.î

MacMillan continues, ìDecember is always an interesting month for job creation due to the seasonal impacts the festivities has on employment. This month has been no exception and this can be supported by the figures for the Food and Drink and Household sectors. These two verticals have seen a positive job creation of 1191 and 1621 respectively in December 2004 and has created a positive boost to two sectors that rarely achieve the top spot in job creation. As 2005 gets into full swing the expectations for this year will be high and we hope to see continued success across all the sectors that have succeeded in 2004.î
Ray Murphy of Mandis commented, The JCI logged the creation of over 553,000 new jobs in 2004. Of these, 147,000 (27%) were in retail, 85,000 (15%) in public services/health, 48,000 (9%) in transport and 45,000 (8%) in leisure/hotels/catering. If the economy continues to grow steadily in 2005 they are sure to be well represented again. If it falters, as some commentators predict, they are bound to be the first to show the adverse effects.

The Mandis/Adecco Job Creation Index is the ongoing monthly tracker of UK jobs created across 21 industries in the UK that enables year on year monthly comparisons. This ëliveí data is gathered via research during each month into the employment intentions of 500 leading UK organisations, providing a key, up-to-date indicator on economic performance and confidence across the sectors. The monthly study is conducted by Mandis Business Intelligence and sponsored by Adecco, UKís recruiter.