Sign up to FREE email alerts from businessInsider - Daily Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Demand for permanent staff continued to rise last month - but at a slower rate than during 2018, says a survey by Royal Bank of Scotland.

That bucked the wider UK trend, though the increase was at the weakest pace in around two-and-a-half years.

The availability of candidates to fill the jobs dropped, while salaries for permanent new starts also showed strong growth in May.

The monthly RBS Report on Jobs found "positive signs" for the labour market.

On the growing demand for permanent staff, the report said: "This was a marked contrast to the trend seen for the UK overall, which showed a third successive monthly decline in permanent placements."

Adverts for temporary placements also grew at a sharp and accelerated pace during May, outpacing that seen for the UK as a whole.

However, the supply of labour continued to deteriorate in Scotland during the survey period, with the rate of decline the most pronounced for permanent staff.

Permanent and short-term job openings increased at much quicker rates than for the UK, but growth in both cases was "subdued" relative to the picture throughout last year.

On pay, the salaries awarded to permanent new starts increased strongly during May.

"That said, the rate of salary inflation was little-changed from those seen since February and was notably weaker than the 2018 average," the report added.

Sebastian Burnside, chief economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, said: "Latest survey data revealed a mixed picture for Scotland's labour market. The positive takeaways remain on the hiring front, where Scotland defied the downturn in recruitment at the wider UK level and posted a solid rise in both temp billings and permanent appointments.

"However, although both staff demand and pay pressures remain historically elevated, rates of increase were softer than 2018 averages, beckoning the question as to whether Scotland's resilience can be sustained in the coming months."