THE NUMBER of job vacancies is still growing, but the labour market is filling up with low-paid jobs as the economy recovers, according to data released by jobs site Adzuna.



The group’s report on the jobs market for June suggests that vacancies have risen by 2.5 per cent in the past 12 months, but the average salary advertised has dipped by 2.1 per cent in the same period.

In real terms, once the UK’s above-target inflation is factored in, the average wage advertised has dropped by £1,670. The figures are based on over half a million job adverts from 300 sources across the UK.



This month’s conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Moscow drew attention to weak or non-existent wage growth in the world’s advanced economies, finding that the UK was the only G20 country in which wages declined in 2010, 2011 and 2012.



Adzuna showed a huge disparity between the number of jobs per jobseeker advertised in different parts of the UK. London was among the healthiest areas, with only 1.88 people looking for a job to each vacancy. By comparison, there are 76 people looking for work per opening in Salford, and 56 in Hull.



The capital and the south east of England are well ahead of the pack in terms of job creation, making up 46 per cent of job openings together.



Boosted by the oil and gas industry, in which salaries are still on the rise, Aberdeen has emerged as the best place in the country to look for work, with nearly three vacancies to every person claiming unemployment benefits in the area.