Recruiters cheer soaring pay for jobs in London
MORE recruiters in London are reporting rising salaries for newly advertised jobs than at any point in the last six and a half years, suggesting that a rapidly firming labour market is finally starting to drive up wages.
Only three per cent of consultancies said that starting salaries were falling during February, against 28 per cent that now suggest they are on the rise, according to the latest report from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
Temporary billings in the capital also ballooned last month, rising at the fastest pace in more than 15 years, according to the survey, reversing the trend for a minor slowdown across the country.
Across the UK, more recruiters said that permanent staff appointments were increasing than at any point in the past four years, marking the second highest increase in permanent positions recorded since the survey began in 1997.
“With permanent appointments rising at the strongest rate for almost four years, employers appear determined to show they are secure enough to make long-term commitments,” said KPMG head of business services Bernard Brown.
He added: “All the indications are that any concerns over job security may be unwarranted. The simple fact is that employers wouldn’t be competing to offer candidates ever increasing salaries if they couldn’t afford to sustain them.”
Official labour market statistics also suggest that the situation is rapidly improving, with unemployment falling to 7.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2013.
Inflationary pressures on the cost of living are also more muted now, with the consumer price index rising by only 1.9 per cent, the first below-target inflation reading in more than four years.