December 2005 Job Creation Index Figures Released - 45,436 Positions Created

Over 45,000 jobs were created across the UKís 21 key industries in December. This month the overall job creation has increased by 19 per cent in comparison to December 2004 signalling a positive end to the year. 15 of the 21 key sectors have seen a positive increase in job creation this month with the technology sector leading the way on the index.

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
Technology ñ December has been a positive month for the technology industry. This month it rises to the top of the index with a positive JCI of 1433

Printing and paper ñ 2005 has been a successful year for the printing and paper sector and December sees a continuation of this success with a positive JCI of 1365

Telecommunications ñ As BT recruits to support its Openreach business, the telecommunications sector rises up the job creation index to 800

Decemberís Chasers
Leisure and recreation ñ The leisure and recreation sector continues to see a downturn in job creation in December 2005. This month the JCI drops to ñ84

Retail and wholesaling ñ Reflecting the concerns about an economic decline on the high street, the retail and wholesaling sector drops to ñ45 in December

Neil Jones, Adecco Sales & Marketing Director of Adecco UK and Ireland said: ìLooking at the Mandis figures for December it is encouraging to see that 2005 finishes on a positive note with an overall increase in job creation. Some key sectors that have strongly recruited over the last 12 months such as the technology industry continue to flourish in December indicating initial signs of growth for the first half of 2006.î

Nicholas Eggington, operations manager of Mandis commented, ìTraditionally a quiet time for announcing new jobs, this month sees an increase of 19% over the same period last year. Telecoms and technology lead the way in raising festive cheer as they announce new jobs into 2006 led by BT recruiting to support its Openreach business. This monthís quiet spots include retailing (who had a small boost last month) and leisure.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.