Scottish Employers struggle to find qualified staff

Overall Scottish labour market conditions remained firm in April, according to the latest Labour Market Report from Bank of Scotland. Recruitment activity was up again, supported by strong demand for staff at Scottish companies. However, shortages of suitable candidates restricted growth of permanent placements in particular. Meanwhile, average pay rates continued to rise, albeit at the least marked pace in three months.



*The reportís unique íBarometerí signalled a twenty-first consecutive monthly improvement in overall job market conditions in Scotland, with the rate of improvement broadly in line with the UK as a whole.

*All four components of the Barometer provided positive contributions to it in April. However, each of the four exerted slightly weaker upward influences than in the previous month.

*Permanent staff placements were only up modestly in April, despite demand for staff rising at a near survey-record pace. With recruitment consultancies again reporting difficulties in finding suitable candidates to fill vacancies, starting salaries offered to entice quality applicants continued to rise.

Commenting, Tim Crawford, Group Economist at Bank of Scotland, said: Staff appointments in Scotland continue to rise, though at a slower pace than suggested by demand trends as recruiters find quality applicants hard to come by. Starting salaries continue to rise in this environment. Demand is particularly strong for IT and computer staff both for permanent and temporary positions.

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