March 2005 Job Creation Index (JCI) Figures released

Vehicle and energy sectors lead the way in job creation

Over 55,000 jobs were created across the UKís 21 key industries in March continuing the positive stream of job creation seen at the start of 2005. The vehicle and parts sector emerges as this monthís front-runner with a positive JCI of 1263. Retail continues to take a strong lead with over 24,000 positions created, 43 per cent of the total number of jobs created in March. Job creation across 15 of the 21 key sectors has been positive this month showing strong growth across many key verticals.

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:
Marchís Front Runners

- Vehicles and parts ñ Bi-annual car registrations appears to be a likely cause for the rise in job creation seen this month. As Marchís top front runner the JCI has risen to 1263 compared to 30 in February 2005 and a 12 fold increase on the figures for this time last year

- Retailing and wholesaling ñ Despite recent concerns that the retail sector has seen a drop in consumer spending this sector has the highest number of jobs created, over 24,000 positions, for the second month running. This suggests that the sector is fighting back from the publicised lack of confidence in the industryís performance

- Energy and utilities ñ March was a positive month for the energy and utility sectors. The JCI rose to 1222, increasing from -30 last month

Marchís Chasers
- Printing and paper ñ After a successful and sustained 2004 the paper and packaging sector sees a disappointing downturn in March with a JCI of ñ87

- Media, marketing and publishing ñ The media and marketing sector has struggled to regain some of the ground lost in 2004. Despite the rise in job creation in February, this month the sector drops to ñ80 on the JCI

Richard MacMillan, managing director of Adecco UK and Ireland said: ìThe job creation index continues to demonstrate the strong growth in employment across many of the key verticals. Some new sectors have emerged as front-runners on the job creation index this month including vehicles and parts, energy and utilities, with a combined JCI of 2485. It is positive to see different sectors each month at the top of the index as it demonstrates a prominent growth in job creation across the 21 key sectors. The retail industry continues to lead the way in the overall number of positions created and this has been reflected in Adecco branches. As a result of this rise in job creation we have continued to open retail specialist branches across the country to meet the demand.

Ray Murphy of Mandis commented, A year on year comparison shows that the 141,000 new posts detected by the Job Creation Index for the first three months of 2005 is 45% more than the 97,500 recorded for the same period in 2004. If this trend continues, the 2004 year end total of 553,000 jobs could well be surpassed by the autumn and this bodes well for the UK employment picture generally.

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, the UKís largest recruiter.