It’s been a strong start to the year for Scotland’s labour market, with job vacancies, application rates and advertised salaries all seeing an increase last quarter. In fact, job vacancies rose by 6.5% in Q1, when compared with data from Q4 2017. That’s according to the latest job market data from CV Library.

What’s more, the report, which analysed data from Q1 2018 and compared this with Q4 2017, found that application rates across the region soared by 26.6% during this period. What’s more, some of the nation’s key cities also witnessed impressive growth last quarter, making the list of the top locations for findings candidates right now include:

  1. Edinburgh – apps up 38.9%
  2. Manchester – apps up 35.8%
  3. Aberdeen – apps up 34.6%
  4. Birmingham – apps up 34%
  5. Liverpool – apps up 30.5%
  6. Southampton – apps up 28.2%
  7. London – apps up 27.6%
  8. Glasgow – apps up 25.9%
  9. Cardiff – apps up 23.9%
  10. Sheffield – apps up 23.8%

Lee Biggins, from CV Library comments on the findings: “It’s great to see that the job market in Scotland has performed so well in the first quarter, with businesses in the nation remaining resilient as we move through 2018. And it’s clear that this confidence is catching on, with candidate appetite picking back up and job hunters remaining active across many of Scotland’s key cities. If you’re looking to expand your workforce, now could be the perfect time to ramp up your recruitment efforts.”

Furthermore, advertised salaries in Scotland saw a slight increase in Q1, rising by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter, with key cities seeing above average hikes. In fact, salaries rose by 8.8% in Aberdeen and 0.9% in Glasgow, when comparing data from Q4 2017.

But despite the report being largely positive, applications across Scotland saw a decline year-on-year, decreasing by 4.6%. That said, job vacancies rose by 4.7% year-on-year.

Biggins concludes: “It’s concerning to learn that application rates were down year-on-year, suggesting that candidates in Scotland aren’t feeling as confident as they were this time a year ago. That said, it’s positive that salaries saw an increase, particularly in some of the key cities, and this could be a big contributing factor towards the rise in application rates when compared with Q4. With candidates feeling more comfortable about making their next career move, businesses across the region need to continue to offer competitive packages if they hope to keep the momentum going.”