UK on the Road to Recovery as Job Vacancies Rise

The UK economy is heading in the right direction as signs of recovery are apparent in the latest jobs index from Reed.

Vacancies for Q1 2012 were 9% higher than the same period last year and rose by 6% from Q4 2011, suggesting the UK may well avoid a double-dip recession.

Based on data collected from the 10,000 companies that advertise positions on the employment agency’s website, Reed tracks the number of job postings and salaries offered, against a baseline figure of 100 set in December 2009.

The figure for March 2012 rose to 142, two higher than the previous month and represents an overall increase for the first quarter of 21 points (or 6%) based on the last three months of 2011.

Job opportunities for accountants outperformed many other industries increasing to 163 from 158 in February, while engineering registered its highest recorded level this month with 230.

The East Midlands was the UK’s leading region by measure of year-on-year growth, while Scotland and Northern Ireland were the only areas to report a decline in employer demand compared with February.

Martin Warnes, managing director of reed.co.uk said of the figures: ‘This represents a strong improvement on the same period last year and supports the growing confidence in the UK's economic recovery which was expressed this week by both the PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) and the British Chambers of Commerce.

‘But we mustn’t forget that, for a lot of people, finding work continues to be a real struggle, whilst the cost to business of employing staff remains a barrier to recruitment. The budget may have been seen as friendly to business, but the taxation burden of actually employing staff remains high which needs to be addressed by policy makers to assist continued job growth and a sustained job-led recovery.’