April 2007 job creation index (JCI) figures revealed

Over 28,000 jobs were created across the UKís 21 key industries in April 2007. This figure is down by 16 per cent when compared to job creation in April 2006, due to the fact that the previous two months have seen exceptional performances from a number of sectors. April 2007 appeared to be a relatively quiet month, with most sectors seeing a significant decline in job creation intentions. However, the month has still seen some strong performers, with overall performance being driven again by the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products and biotechnology group, which delivered a positive JCI of 706. Last month, this sector saw outstanding growth with a positive JCI of over 13,000.

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:
Aprilís Front Runners

Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products and biotechnology ñ Another excellent performance from this sector, as it finishes top for a second consecutive month, with a positive JCI of 706

Consumer goods manufacturing ñ A promising month for the consumer goods manufacturing sector, as it finishes one of this monthís frontrunners, with a positive JCI of 254

Energy and utilities ñ One of last monthís chasers, the energy and utilities sector sees a significant improvement this month with a positive JCI of 209

Aprilís Chasers

Finance and banking ñ Not a good month for this group, as it slips to bottom position, with a negative JCI of 96

Health and social care ñ The health and social care sector finishes in the bottom three again, with a negative JCI of 90

Printing and paper ñ Another disappointing performance in April as this sector returns a negative JCI of 83

Ren Schuster, Adeccoís CEO UK and Ireland, said: ìAlthough there has been a significant decrease in number of job creations in April 2007, this followed exceptional performances over the past two months and the same month last year. Despite the fact that this month the figures from Mandis indicate a general downturn in job creation, we are confident that as the year progresses we will see a number of sectors recruiting steadily.î

Philip Arnold, director of Mandis, commented: ìThe chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products and biotechnology sector again recorded an outstanding growth figure of 3,102 new job creations. This was primarily due to the announcement of 3,000 new jobs being created in a science park in Newcastle. This helped the sector to be the greatest growth area in both percentage and absolute terms.î

In absolute terms, the second greatest increase in new job creation intentions was in the building and construction sector, which announced planned increases of over 2,000 new jobs. These were mainly due to an announcement of a proposed golf resort development outside Aberdeen, which could bring an extra 62 million a year to the Scottish economy.

Arnold continued: ìThe consumer goods manufacturing sector recorded a strong performance with an increase of over 200%, due to the ongoing development of the former Rover site at Longbridge. In addition, the energy and utilities sector performed well primarily due to the planned creation of 1,000 new jobs as part of a multi-million pound expansion programme by oil support company, Production Services Network (PSN).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 2000 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.