"The gap between Scotland and England narrowed but condition in Scotland's labour market remain challenging...the slowdown in the Scottish economy has been arrested, rather than reversed this month." (right) MacRae adds.

The Herald reports, that fastest increase in permanent and temporary placements were in Aberdeen, Scotland’s oil centre, and Edinburgh, the country’s financial capital, but in its games centre, Dundee posted the largest falls in both sectors.

Average salaries paid to permanent staff fell in three out of the four regions covered by the survey, with Aberdeen being the exception. By contrast, Glasgow was the only region to register lower hourly rates for temporary workers. However Glasgow recruiters recorded the fastest rate of increase in permanent candidate availability. Aberdeen registered the fastest rise in temp availability.

Permanent staff highest growth was in IT & computing, followed by executive & professional, with engineering and construction third. In the temporary contract staff stakes, hotel & catering ranked top, followed by Blue Collar only then followed by IT & Computing.