September 2006 Job Creation Index (JCI) Figures Released - 33,983 Positions Created

Nearly 34,000 jobs were created across the UKís 21 key industries in September. In comparison to this time last year, job creation is down by 33 per cent, however this is largely the result of the peak in job creation seen last September where over 50,000 jobs were created. Despite the general downturn, a number of sectors are still performing well in comparison to last year, in particular energy and utilities and finance and banking, which have seen a combined increase of 2784 positions created.

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:

Septemberís Front Runners
Energy and Utilities ñ Energy and utilities has seen a surge in job creation. This month the JCI rises to 1455

Finance and Banking ñ Following on from last monthís positive results the finance and banking sector leads the way on the Job Creation Index with a positive JCI of 1116

Telecommunications ñ After a downturn in job creation in August, telecommunications jumps to 549

Septemberís Chasers
Technology ñ Despite the positive job creation levels in the telecoms sector the technology sector has dropped to the bottom of the JCI this month with a negative JCI figure of -95

Leisure and recreation ñ Continuing the slow trend seen in job creation in 2006 for this sector, the JCI drops to -92

Steven Kirkpatrick, Adecco sales and marketing director of Adecco UK and Ireland said: ìThis month we are seeing a similar pattern in job creation levels to last month, although overall the number of positions created are down compared to 2005, overall job creation is healthy in over 50 per cent of the industry sectors. It will be interesting to see if the Age Discrimination Act has any impact on these figures in the coming months.î

Nicholas Eggington, operations manager of Mandis commented, ì33,983 positions created is a healthy number and whilst overall job creation is down a number of key sectors are focusing efforts on recruitment. The two sectors that have been leading the way in 2006 are the front-runners for this month ñ energy and utilities and finance and banking. It will be interesting to see if these levels continue through to the end of the year.î

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 a representative sample of over 500 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.