Contract vacancies in Scotland rise by 9 per cent year-on-year

The data, provided by recruitment software company, Innovantage, revealed that demand for professionals rose significantly across a number of sectors including IT and engineering which experienced respective uplifts of 24 per cent and 12 per cent.

Moya Rylands, regional director at APSCo said: “After months of positive uplift in Scotland’s job market, professional job availability in country rose once again in May 2017, increasing 9% year-on-year. This is despite the fact that many commentators are reporting that the UK economy is slowing as Brexit negotiations begin.

“It is unsurprising that demand for IT professionals is positively booming in the region. Silicon Glen – the triangle between Dundee, Inverclyde and Edinburgh is home to digital companies such as Rockstar North, the British video game developer behind the Grand Theft Auto series. International brands such as IBM, Microsoft and Adobe Systems also have bases in the area.

“According to a recent report from Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish government-backed Digital Technologies Skills Group, the number of tech businesses rose by 53 per cent between 2010 and 2015 - almost three times as fast as businesses across Scotland as a whole. What’s more, the digital technology sector is forecast to grow twice as fast as the local economy overall in the years to 2024 so demand for professionals in this area is unlikely to slow in the near future.”