August 2007 Job Creation Index (JCI) Figures released - 25,130 positions created

Over 25,130 jobs were created across the UKís 21 key industries in August 2007. This figure is down by two per cent when compared to job creation in August 2006, but a number of sectors have seen a strong performance including the consumer goods manufacturing sector, which recorded a positive JCI of 1880.

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:

Augustís Front Runners

Consumer goods manufacturing ñ An excellent month for this sector with a positive JCI of 1880

Textiles ñ The second highest on the job creation index with a positive JCI of 500

Transport and distribution storage ñ This was the best performing sector in terms of absolute jobs created with an impressive 3,084 compared to 890 in August 2006

Augustís Chasers

Vehicles and parts ñ The worst performing sector in this months JCI with a score of -96

Public sector and defence ñ A second poor month for this sector with consecutive negative JCI scores. This month the public sector and defence sector scored -83

Ren Schuster, CEO Adecco Group, UK & Ireland, said, ìAugust 2007 may have seen a slight overall decrease in job creation compared to this time last year, but over half of the sectors scored a positive JCI and those that scored a negative result were only marginal. A number of key sectors such as consumer goods manufacturing and textiles have seen strong scores contributing to an overall healthy month.î

Schuster went on to say, ìThis monthís findings add strength to recent news that the manufacturing sector has reported the fastest growth rate in 15 years. This is a great result and reflects the strength and breadth of talent within the UK industry. The manufacturing landscape in Britain has often been associated with large-scale production, but on closer inspection itís those smaller, niche manufacturers, which have in fact contributed significantly to this strong growth.î

Philip Arnold, director of Mandis, commented, ìThe JCI had decreased overall by 631 compared to the same period last year, but this is only a two per cent decrease. However, there are some areas that have shown significant percentage increases compared to the previous year. The transport, distribution and storage sector registered a strong performance with a JCI score of 347. The biggest single increase was the 1000 new jobs being created in Widnes by Eddie Stobart. The company announced that it was building over 1 million square feet of new warehousing in Widnes over an 18 month period.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.