‘NEAR RECORD RISE’ IN STARTING SALARIES
Despite concerns over slowing growth, Scotland’s job market continues to improve.
The latest Bank of Scotland Report on jobs out this week shows that permanent placements rose at a sharp and accelerated rate in December - alongside a near-record rise in starting salaries.
The Bank’s labour market barometer shows that demand for staff continued to grow strongly, though candidate availability is still an issue. There was a loss of momentum in the availability of temporary jobs, with billings from contract staff rising at the slowest rate in eight months and hourly wage inflation also easing.
The barometer read 63.2 in December, up from November’s 60.1, pointing to a marked improvement in the health of Scotland’s labour market, though progress was slower than seen around the middle of the year. The barometer moved back above the equivalent index for the UK as a whole, which sank to a 13-month low in December.
The increase in starting salaries is particularly heartening given concerns of a protracted pause in pay rates and the resulting squeeze on household incomes.
The most marked increase in permanent job openings in Scotland was in IT & Computing, followed by Executive & Professional. The strongest increase in demand for temporary staff was again in Nursing/Medical/Care. The weakest was in Executive & Professional.
Said Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae, “December’s Barometer reversed much of the loss in November with the overall reading showing a strong performance in the month. The number of people appointed to jobs rose with particularly strong growth in appointments to permanent jobs. The number of vacancies rose at a faster pace while staring salaries rose at near-record levels.
“These results provide further evidence that the economic recovery continued at the end of last year and looks set to carry on into 2015.
Scotland Office Minister David Mundell commented “Going into 2015 Scotland’s economy is expected to grow and build on two successive years of economic growth. The challenges our oil and gas sector are facing and the impact this is having on jobs underline the serious challenges which remain for our economy.
“With the large single domestic market, wider tax base and economic stability that comes from being part of the UK, we can create the conditions to support business and our vital industries and help them create more opportunities for Scots across the country.”
BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF
START-UP LOANS SCHEME TO BE TREBLED
Prime Minister David Cameron has announced plans to treble the Start-Up Loans scheme, which hands out sums of around £5,000 to help young entrepreneurs. At least 75,000 loans will have been made by 2020, according to the PM, creating at least 100,000 jobs. Mr Cameron sought to appeal directly to small businesses, with four months before the election. “These are people we admire and want to help”, he declared yesterday. “Other parties preach about this sort of stuff; but we're the ones who really deliver.” Hmmm. We’ll see.
IS SCOTLAND READY FOR FRACKING?
10th February An expert scientific panel report for the Scottish Government last July said Scotland could develop a shale gas industry at scale, while industrial powerhouse Ineos has argued it could "revolutionise UK manufacturing". This will be theme of a Scotsman Conferences event on February 10. Hear from chairman of the expert panel Dr Chris Masters, Gary Haywood of Ineos, energy analysts and more to debate the prospects of shale gas exploration coming to Scotland. More details at www.scotsmanconferences.com.
SCOTTISH FARMS ‘OUTPACING UK’
Scotland’s agricultural sector is performing better than many parts of the UK, according to new research by insolvency trade body R3.In January the proportion of agricultural businesses with a higher than normal risk of insolvency was 12%, below the UK average of 14%.This places Scotland in line with the North East and East of England, and ahead of Wales (17%), the South East (16%) and West Midlands (15%). Scotland’s agricultural industry remained relatively stable in the second half of 2014, with the proportion of ‘higher risk’ firms rising by just one per cent between July and December.
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FINANCIAL SERVICES PICK-UP
Most financial services firms reported rising business volumes in the three months to December, according to the latest CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey. Business volumes rose at the fastest pace since the mid-1990s. Almost two-thirds of financial services firms reported higher business volumes, with a balance of +57 per cent - the strongest growth since December 1996. Building societies were the exception, with business volumes falling unexpectedly. The focus remains on technology and digital innovation as well as regulatory compliance. Steve Davies, UK head of retail banking, based at PwC’s Edinburgh office, says “Increasing investment in land and buildings is also a sign of banks looking at expanding into cities outside London such as Edinburgh and Manchester due to high cost and capacity issues in the capital.”
FIRST EVER CAT CAFE FOR EDINBURGH
2015 sees the first of its kind cat café in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. Based on a Japanese style café, customers are invited to play, photograph and cuddle the cats while enjoying a hot beverage. Owner Laura O’Neill, 27, came up with the idea of Maison de Moggy on a trip to Japan where one of the most recommended activities on Trip Advisor was to visit a cat café. The focus is very much on the cats and not the usual cake and food we associate with cafes. Why not try something new this year, and swap the cake for a selfie with a cat instead? You can find out more and follow the Maison de Moggy story on Facebook.
COPYRIGHT CONFERENCE DATE FOR THE DIARY
Have copyright laws kept pace with the digital age? How can the creative industries and cultural heritage sector best protect the ownership and management of written and recorded materials when content can be shared globally with the tap of a smartphone? At a Scotsman Conferences event on February 2 speakers from the British Library, UK Intellectual Property Office and leading universities discuss changes and challenges in Copyright and Cultural Heritage 2.0: Protecting creators, sharing content. Speakers from the British Library, UK Intellectual Property Office and leading universities discuss changes and challenges. Further details at www.scotsmanconferences.com.
ONE-STOP PROPERTY DATABASE FOR SCOTLAND?
Should Scotland follow countries like Norway in moving to a one-stop database which allows easy, but secure access to the data and documents needed to support land and property transactions and wider public services? What benefits could this deliver to the business community and consumers, especially in areas like conveyancing? Book early to ensure a place at a Scotsman Conferences debate on March 10 on this issue. Details at www.scotsmanconferences.com.
CROWD FUNDING PLATFORM FOR PROPERTY INVESTORS
An innovative way to invest in the UK residential property market has been launched with the crowdfunding platform, Property Partner. It enables investment in individual residential properties, receive a monthly rental income and benefit from any capital growth in direct proportion to their ownership. The platform also enables investors to offer their property holdings for sale via a designated secondary market. The launch follows a £1.25m seed funding round involving Octopus Investments (backers of Zoopla), Jon Moulton (founder of Alchemy Partners and Better Capital) and Ed Wray (co-founder of Betfair and Director of Funding Circle).More details at https://propertypartner.co.uk
Economy Forecast
25 Jan
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START UP ENTREPRENEURS - THE DOWNSIDES
We well know the merits of starting up a business and being your own boss. You get to play to your strengths, set your own hours – and are freed up from those interminable office meetings about meetings.
But there are sacrifices, too.
Neglecting family, working more than 60 hours a week – and not paying yourself a decent wage are top of the list.
With the start of the New Year the Post Office has noted a spike in the number of people planning to launch out on their own. And a study to see how far Brits will go to work independently has revealed that 43 per cent of entrepreneurs aren't able to pay themselves a regular wage.
Although the lack of income was considered the biggest sacrifice for almost half of entrepreneurs, being unable to pay a personal salary spiked to 54 per cent for those starting up in media and marketing.
Meanwhile, 16 per cent of respondents said little time off for holidays was the biggest challenge. Broken down by region, this spiked to 23 per cent in Scotland and 19 per cent in the south of the UK but fell to eight per cent of business owners in the north.
After that, says reporter Zen Terrelonge, “ it's perhaps of little surprise that long hours are also a sacrifice, thus 12 per cent admit they will work more than 60 hours a week to get the company up to speed and consider that the biggest issue, according to the findings”.
When looked at by sector, financial entrepreneurs claim to work shorter hours as 21 per cent said they put in around 50 hours a week compared to 49 per cent of those in hospitality, who work the longest across all industries.
As a result, ten per cent of SME founders said spending less time with their family was the biggest sacrifice.
Pete Markey, chief marketing officer, Post Office, said: “The first year of trading in any business is often one of the hardest and our study shows that entrepreneurs face having to make serious sacrifices when starting up a business.
“Administrative tasks can be notoriously time consuming so finding ways to streamline this activity for maximum efficiency can make all the difference in freeing up spare time.”
Indeed, the report claims administration is one of the largest tasks, and 12 per cent of entrepreneurs spend more than ten hours a week on the duty, which is equivalent to 21 days a year.
