- New job opportunities surge following summer break
- Improved employment picture tempered by pay – salaries remain static
- Jobs growth across majority of sectors from retail to construction and manufacturing
- Scotland tops location charts with all other regions showing significant yearly rises
Growth in new job opportunities is continuing across the UK but salaries remain static, according to the latest Reed Job Index.
Now at 166, the monthly index, which is compiled using data from around 150,000 vacancies advertised on reed.co.uk, shows that job opportunities are at their highest since the Reed Job Index began in 2009, with growth of over 3% month-on-month and by 24% on an annual basis. Furthermore, the number of new jobs added to reed.co.uk in one day reached a five-year high on Wednesday, 18 September at 7,978.
Growth was seen across a wide variety of employment sectors, with vacancies in the manufacturing and retail sectors particularly buoyant, up over 32% and 31% respectively compared with September 2012. The construction & property sector continues to power ahead with strong annual growth, with a rise in job opportunities of 78% year-on-year. Overall, more than half of industry sectors have seen annual jobs growth of greater than 20%.
Scotland leads the way in terms of yearly growth in new vacancies for the fourth consecutive month. Tellingly, every UK region is now offering more jobs than the same period last year, with growth ranging from 13% to 46% year-on-year.
Salary wise, the picture is less encouraging with employee pay packets remaining at the same level as they did this time last year and 4% lower than they were when the Reed Job Index began in 2009.
Overall, the Job Index now stands at a record 166, up from 161 in August and 138 at the beginning of the year.
Commenting on the latest figures, James Reed, chairman of reed.co.uk, says:
“Our vacancy figures have indicated an improving picture of the state of the UK economy since before the beginning of 2013. This has been echoed by other industry statistics more recently. While previously growth was being driven by a handful of sectors and locations, encouragingly September saw jobs growth across the vast majority of sectors and across all regions.
“Amidst all the positive indicators, the absence of salary growth continues to temper wider optimism. Pay has remained static for the past three months now and our figures show that since the index began back in 2009 employees won’t have noticed an improvement in their pay packets. While it is clear that 2013 will be far more fruitful for jobseekers than 2012, there is still a sense that salaries aren’t going anywhere fast.
The Reed Job Index is compiled by reed.co.uk, through analysis of job vacancies from over 10,000 recruiters throughout the UK tracked against a baseline of 100 established in December 2009. It is the largest monthly measure of conditions and trends in employment in the UK. Reed.co.uk is the UK’s largest jobs board, receiving a total of over 120 million visits in the last 12 months and 24 million job applications.
