As the UK moves out of the recession, many are predicting a rise in employment opportunities, including those in Scotland's financial sector...
With the country now officially out of recession according to figures published this week, the
Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) are predicting that the beginning of recovery could further boost employer confidence and accelerate the already increasing demand for both temporary and permanent staff.
The latest REC JobsOutlook survey showed clear signs that employer confidence is already of the rise as one in five businesses surveyed plan to increase the size of their permanent workforce over the coming year, while 90% confirmed that they plan now further job cuts in 2010.
The figures come on the back of a recent report which suggests that permanent staff placements are growing at their fastest rate in the past 18 months, while temporary placements are rising at the sharpest rate in over 30 months.
The figures support predictions for employment in Scotland's financial sector in 2010, which is expecting redundancy rates to drop dramatically and many firms to add staff.
This time last year, job vacancies in Scotland's financial sector were down by more than 90% on the previous year. Yet,
despite reported weak growth in financial services sector in the UK in the last quarter of 2009, following increased profitability of the last 6 months and the resulting increase in confidence, many firms are optimistic of taking on new staff in 2010.
However, despite the predicted rise in vacancies, job seeker movement amongst talented professionals already in employment remains restrained, with many individuals electing to sit tight in their current role rather than "gamble" on moving to a new position for fear of a double dip recession.
While the hangover from the recession means that even firms with stronger brands are struggling to entice top talent from their competitors, it does mean that there may be some potentially more lucrative offers for those willing to make a move, with the increase in demand placing them in a strong bargaining position.