Advertised salaries have fallen to an 11-month low, as growth in the workforce is driven by lower-paid roles and part-time positions, according to the latest UK Job Market Report from, Adzuna.co.uk.
The average advertised salary in the UK was £33,696 in June, down 0.9 percent from £34,002 in May, the fourth consecutive month seeing steep falls. Salaries have now reached their lowest point since £33, 873 in July 2014.
An increase in lower-paid and part-time positions has played a factor in the stagnation of advertised salaries. June saw 1,092,030 available UK vacancies, this is 3.2 percent higher than the 1,058,425 vacancies recorded in May, and 12.8 percent higher than the 968,273 recorded six months earlier in December 2014.
Competition for jobs has also fallen to a record low. With just 0.67 jobseekers per advertised vacancy in June, which is 6.6 percent lower than 0.72 in May, and almost half the 1.21 figure seen in June 2014.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, comments:
“The solid growth in vacancies is the dominant backdrop behind this unemployment uptick. It may even be a sign of greater mobility: as more and more vacancies open up, employees are confident enough to temporarily leave their current job in order to dedicate their efforts to finding a new one. Competition for jobs is continually falling away as the British economy starts to spread its wings again. In that context, this minor fluctuation gives us little cause for concern.”
Average salary growth continues to be led by Yorkshire and the Humber. North East England (5.7%) and the North West (5.0%) show an average year-on-year salary growth of 5.9 percent, which is nearly three times higher than the 2.3 percent average of the southern regions of the UK, London (0.9%), South East England (1.9%), Eastern England (3.0%) and South West England (3.0%). London had the lowest average annual improvement to advertised salaries in June, while Scotland witnessed a decrease.
Andrew Hunter explains:
“The north is starting to come into its own. Northern employers are expanding salaries far faster than in the south, to try to attract top talent to their expanding businesses. But these things don’t happen overnight, and there are bound to be some delays and growing pains. Infrastructure and housing have as much a part to play in building the north into a well-oiled economic machine as much as attractive salaries. Looking forward, it won’t be long until more people start to realise that the cost of living is seriously tipped in their favour if they can find the right job in places like Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.”
Biggest improvers – UK regions by average salary
| Region | Average Salary | Salary % 12 Month Change |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £30,468 | +7.1% |
| North East England | £29,773 | +5.7% |
| North West England | £30,175 | +5.0% |
| East Midlands | £29,991 | +4.6% |
| South West England | £30,590 | +3.5% |
| Eastern England | £31,609 | +3.0% |
| UK | £33,696 | +2.3% |
| South East England | £32,058 | +1.9% |
| West Midlands | £30,901 | +1.8% |
| Northern Ireland | £29,716 | +1.2% |
| Wales | £29,857 | +1.2% |
| London | £40,794 | +0.9% |
| Scotland | £32,027 | -0.9% |
Amie Filcher is an editorial assistant at HRreview.