The average salary for employees working in the recruitment industry increased by 17.5% between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the fourth quarter 2016, according to research by CV Library.
Its latest Job market report, which is based on an analysis of data from CV Library's website, also found that average salaries in the legal sector increased by 8.7% between October-December 2015 and October-December 2016.
Over this period, average pay increased by 6.7% in the hospitality sector, by 5.7% in the property sector, and by 4.8% in the accounting and finance industry.
Average salaries in the north west of England increased by 14.2% between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the fourth quarter of 2016, with rises of 6.8% reported in Wales, 3.9% in the East Midlands, 3.5% in the north east of England, and 2.6% in Scotland.
In Cardiff, average salaries grew by 14.9% between the third and fourth quarter in 2016, rising from £29,429 to £33,819. Average salaries in Edinburgh increased by 4.4%, from £30,160 to £31,477, and Manchester recorded an increase of 3.9%, with average salaries rising from £30,435 to £31,606. Bristol saw average salaries increase by 3.8% between July-September 2016 and October-December 2016, from £31,823 to £33,037.
Lee Biggins (pictured), founder and managing director at CV Library, said: “It’s clear that widespread skills shortages are pushing up salaries across the UK, which is good news for job hunters looking for a new role in the next few months.
“Businesses in these cities and sectors have clearly recognised the need to push up salaries ahead of the new year rush in order to attract new recruits and it is hoped that we will see this strategy pay off in the next quarter’s data.
“2016 was a turbulent year for the economy, but the fact that organisations are showing signs of investing in their current and future workforce is a positive indication for the labour market in 2017. We expect to see job and application figures pick up next quarter, as business and candidate confidence strengthens.”
