February 2008 Job Creation Index (JCI) Figures Released

- Sector is second best performer in UK industry

Employment in the engineering, industrial and materials processing sectors saw a major rise in February, with 1,090 new positions created. This figure is up by some 60 per cent when compared to job creation in February 2007, as revealed by joint research from Roevin, the engineering and technical recruitment arm of the Adecco Group, and Mandis Business Intelligence.

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. The Engineering and Technical sector measured job intentions in energy and utilities, consumer goods manufacturing, chemicals and pharmaceuticals as well as industrial, engineering and materials processing, all of which performed admirably in terms of number of vacancies created.

Keith Gallagher, managing director of Roevin, said: ìThe figures from this monthís research are extremely positive for the engineering and manufacturing sectors, and highlight an upsurge in job demand across a number of industry areas. Positions within the chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector showed significant increases from the same period last year with an extra 261 jobs created, a percentage increase of 1,305î.

Keith continued; ìThe good news is maintained in the form of engineering and materials employment which seems to have been buoyed by the increase in UK manufacturing weíve witnessed over the past 12 months. Business expansion by Subsea 7 Limited, which announced an extra 100 jobs at its Aberdeen site in February, is an example of how a strong manufacturing presence remains in the UK, as well as the demand for skilled members of staffî.

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.