The latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs survey signalled a fresh decline in permanent staff appointments across Scotland during December. The pace of reduction was the strongest since April, as growing economic uncertainty weighed on hiring decisions and discouraged workers from seeking new roles. Candidate shortages meanwhile continued to push up starting salaries, though the rate of inflation eased notably from November. Temp wage growth also softened at the end of the year. Finally, overall demand for staff weakened further, with both permanent and temp vacancies declining markedly in December.

Sebastian Burnside, Chief Economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, commented: “The subdued economic environment and signs of further declines in vacancies suggest that hiring activity will remain weak as we head into 2024. However, softening demand conditions have led to slower rates of pay growth, especially for permanent starters’ salaries, helping to ease the pressure on employer’s budgets.

Some headlines include:

Renewed fall in permanent placements
Scottish recruitment firms recorded a fresh fall in permanent staff appointments during December, with declines now noted in four of the last five survey periods. The rate of decrease was the most pronounced since April and sharp. The reduction was linked by recruiters to heightened levels of economic uncertainty, which dampened employers’ and workers’ intentions to hire or seek out new roles. Permanent staff appointments fell at a steeper rate across Scotland than that seen across the UK as a whole.

Availability of permanent staff worsens
Stretching the current period of decrease to 35 months. The pace of decline remained sharp despite easing to a three-month low. According to recruiters, fewer workers were willing to risk a job move in the current economic climate. The reduction in the number of workers seeking permanent positions across Scotland contrasted with the marked upturn in permanent staff availability at the UK level.

Strong rise in temp staff supply
A third consecutive monthly rise in temp candidate supply was recorded across Scotland in December. Growth of temp staff supply across the UK as a whole continued to outpace that seen in Scotland.

Steeper drop in permanent vacancies
Scottish recruiters registered a marked fall in permanent vacancies during December.

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