September 2014 Update from Gavin Mochan, Sales Director

Gavin_picSo we have cause to celebrate; Scotland now has over 2.6 million people in employment. That is 59.8% of our population aged 16 and over. As covered in the August update, I highlighted that this was being driven by increased hiring in the corporate sector alongside a rise in people being self-employed.

Youth unemployment is now at its lowest level in over six years. Government statistics tell us that 29,000 less 16 to 24 year olds are out of work, but 72,000 still remain on the ‘dole queue’. That is still way too high, which is why a few months ago we announced an employer initiative to offer more jobs to this age group.

Many of the young people in Scotland turn to key sectors like hospitality, catering or tourism to get their important first step on the career ladder. We recognise this and announced to our recruitment partners that we would allow these companies to advertise on s1jobs free of charge if the role equated to £7 per hour or less. This means s1jobs and employers can present more jobs to this venerable market online.

We also announced that for those top employers paying more in the hospitality sector, we would advertise the higher paid jobs free of charge (provided you have the highest paying job in the town or city). Our hope is that through this initiative we make more jobs, and the best jobs, available for young jobseekers.

In September there were over 91k vacancies advertised online across Scotland, down month on month. A 23.9% increase on the same period last year but for the first time this year it was entirely induced by contract and temporary roles. Conversely, vacancies on s1jobs were at record levels in September since 2008, with more employers choosing us as their partner of choice.

Permanent roles in Scotland fell by 1% in the September period. My explanation for this drop would be down to the referendum which took place on the 18th of September, causing inertia and uncertainty amongst Scotland’s employers.

Top 5 sectors by job volume for September:
IT
Engineering/Manufacturing
Sales
Health & Social Care
Property & Construction

Top 5 sectors by year on year growth:
Health & Social Care – 63.91%
Retail – 52.93%
Military/Policing – 42.97
Supply Chain & Logistics – 39.46%
Customer Service – 37.63%

Sincerely,

Gavin