July sees strong demand for staff

There was a rise in demand for staff throughout July, latest figures show.

Demand for healthcare contractors and other staff remained positive last month, the latest Bank of Scotland figures suggest.

Appointments of both permanent and temporary staff increased in Scotland throughout July, with many agencies believing the trend is due to greater client demand.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at the Bank of Scotland, explained: "There was a rise in the number of people placed into permanent work, bringing the current period of growth to ten months.

"The rate of wage inflation remained solid, but eased since the previous month."

Aberdeen was found to have the fastest rate of increase in both permanent and temporary staff placements throughout July.

It was recently suggested by Martyn Hart, chairman of the National Outsourcing Association, that the recession has led to increased demand for contractors as companies hope to cut their costs.

He pointed out that there are generally more contracts available for workers to compete over.