Employer demand for new UK workers rose in October to reach its highest level in eleven months, with the Reed Job Index reaching 107.
The number of new jobs on offer across the country rose by three points (three per cent) compared to last month, to reach its highest level since the Index began. Job demand has risen seven per cent compared to 11 months ago, and beats the previous highpoint of 105 (recorded in February) by two points to give a Reed Job Index reading of 107.
Salaries for new jobs slipped further back compared to last month to give a Reed Salary Index reading of 94, two points below last month. While job numbers have risen, the number of applicants per job has risen at a faster rate, and salaries have dropped below the level when the Index began in December 2009, when the Salary Index was set at 100.
Each month the Reed Job Index tracks the number of new job opportunities and the salaries on offer compared to the previous month and against a baseline of 100 set in December last year. The Reed Job Index is based on data from the UK’s largest job board, reed.co.uk, which every day lists over 90,000 job opportunities from 8,000 recruiters across 37 career sectors throughout the UK.
While overall job demand rose across the board, job demand rose to its highest since the Index began in Manufacturing and Marketing, demonstrating a steady return to demand across the private sector.
Across the UK job demand was higher in every region and nation for the first time since the Index began eleven months ago. While demand in London remained below the highs which the capital experienced this Spring it rose to a London Job Index figure of 101 in October, while job demand in the West Midlands and the South East were both at their highest level since the Index started.
Martin Warnes, managing director of reed.co.uk, comments on the Reed Job Index for October: “Job demand across the country is at the strongest level we have ever recorded, a full seven percent higher than when the Index began. The autumn has witnessed strong growth in the jobs market with demand up in such diverse sectors such as Banking, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Tourism and Marketing. Although salaries continue to slip downwards as applicant levels reach record highs, the threat of an imminent economic double-dip certainly seems to be receding which is great news for job-seekers.”
