Advertised salaries grow 8.1% year-on-year in February

• Average advertised salary hits £34,627 in February, up 8.1% from £32,023 in February 2014 – the largest annual increase since the financial crisis
• Teaching jobs see largest annual salary increase, rising 26% year-on-year to £26,651 in February
• Meanwhile, Healthcare and Nursing positions see salaries increase 21.7%, to £37,873 in February
• Adzuna Unemployment Predictor forecasts rate to drop to 5.1% by June, down from 5.7% in January
• Total advertised vacancies climb to post recession high, with 992,465 available vacancies in February
• Competition for jobs falls back, with 0.86 jobseekers per advertised vacancy
• Cambridge and Manchester – two of the four cities pledged Budget support – both in the top 10 cities to find a job in the UK, but cities like Sunderland and Hull ignored

February saw the largest annual increase in advertised salaries since the recession, driven by growing pay packets for Britain’s teachers and healthcare professionals, according to the latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna.co.uk.

At £34,627, advertised wages were 8.1% higher than the £32,023 registered in February last year – the largest annual growth since the financial crisis. Adjusted for CPI inflation, this translates to a £2,605 real wage increase. On a monthly basis, the average advertised salary showed a small 0.1% improvement.

Advertised vacancies neared the million-mark in February, with 992,465 positions available. This is a 24% increase on February 2014 when there were 800,614 positions advertised.

February also brought the largest month-on-month increase for 11 months with a 4.2% boost from January’s unexpectedly lacklustre total (952,829 positions).

The delayed vacancy boom has beaten back job competition. This February saw just 0.86 jobseekers per advertised vacancy, compared to 0.90 in January and 1.55 in February 2014.

The Adzuna Unemployment Predictor shows that UK unemployment is due to hit 5.5% in March, down from 5.7% in January (the last official update from the ONS). The model also suggests that unemployment will have fallen even further to 5.1% by June 2015.

Table 1:

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, comments: “For the first time in a long while, British workers are having their cake and eating it too. The jobs market has fought through some very tough economic times and emerged stronger for it. Job competition is down, CPI inflation has fallen, and advertised wages are rising. The facts are plain. UK jobseekers have an enormous range of options, and once they secure employment, their potential pay-packets are far higher than last year, with February’s rate of vacancy growth hitting post-recession peaks. Not only this, but low inflation is pushing pay packets even further.

“It’s a perfect storm for UK workers. It’s entirely possible that pre-election jitters might have had a negative impact on the jobs market, but all the key indicators are heading in the right direction. Whichever group comes into power is going to have to be careful not to stifle this newly found sense of optimism. It’s been a long time coming.”

Salaries boom for Britain’s selfless sectors

Teaching and Healthcare & Nursing jobs both take up hard-earned positions in the top three sectors by annual salary improvement. Teaching jobs lead the way with a remarkable 26.0% increase in advertised pay packets compared to February last year, bringing their average advertised salary to £26,651. Healthcare & Nursing positions also saw a formidable pay jump, with a 21.7% year-on-year boost bringing the sector’s average advertised salary to £37,873.

Table 2: Biggest improvers – job sectors by average salary

Andrew Hunter comments: “At the top end, teachers and healthcare workers are being well compensated for their vital and emotionally demanding work. Their pay increases signal a demand for top talent that simply isn’t being met. A raft of schemes have been rolled out to try and attract high-fliers towards the teaching profession – from an industry backed initiative to parachute maths and physics PhDs into classrooms to a recent approval for a 1% increase in state school salaries. But there is still a lack of highly experienced teaching talent. As a result, some areas of the country are seeing a host of head-teacher roles on offer – and these roles command a considerable salary premium.

“In the Healthcare & Nursing sector, the NHS has been struggling with understaffing for some time, developing a dependence on agency nurses which will prove difficult to break without managing to attract – and keep – full-time nurses on hospital payrolls. Meanwhile, doctors and surgeons at the top of the tree have seen generous salary boosts. Healthcare workers will be hoping these pay increases trickle down through the system and into their own pay-packets.”

A regionally targeted Budget may be hitting the wrong spots

The regions the Budget seeks to help are already among the best for job-hunters. The Budget saw local support for Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Greater Manchester and Cheshire East, with these regions being allowed to keep 100% of local business rates from shops and restaurants – but Cambridge and Manchester are already in the top ten best places in the UK to find jobs.

There are just 0.11 jobseekers per vacancy in Cambridge and 0.40 in Manchester. The worst places to find a job in February were Sunderland (5.33) Hull (4.88) and Bradford (4.36).

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, comments: “The trial scheme allowing these regions to keep more of the money they make from business rates is sure to add to the prosperity of places like Cambridge and Manchester – but these aren’t the areas that need the most help. There are many UK regions still experiencing fierce job competition, and that’s where governmental assistance should be directed.

“Hopefully the trial will succeed in the resurgent jobs markets around Cambridge and Manchester, giving an option for the scheme to be rolled out in struggling areas of the North. With Aberdeen dropping off the top ten best cities, Manchester has become the exception that proves the rule – the North needs all the help it can get, and regionally-targeted schemes need to take this into account.”

Salary growth slowdown in the North West

Yorkshire and The Humber has seen a 13.8% improvement in salaries compared to February last year. It has managed to displace North East England (13.3%) to become the region with the fastest growing average salary. Eastern England is now tied with the West Midlands for third place (11.2%). Salary growth in Northern Ireland (3.9%), Scotland (2.1%) and Wales (1.7%) is still lagging well behind an 8.1% UK average.

Table 3: Biggest improvers – UK regions by average salary

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