October’s Reed Job Index stands at 129, which is eight index points (seven percent) up from September.  This reverses the decline in job demand in Q3 of this year, and brings the number of new job opportunities on offer back up to the levels last seen in Q1.

Employer demand is 23 points higher year on year, and is 29 per cent above the level of December 2009 when the Index baseline was set at 100, according to the report compiled by job site reed.co.uk.  The 7 per cent increase is the second largest month on month rise recorded since the Reed Job Index began 22 months ago. However salaries for new jobs stayed flat and are two per cent lower than in December 2009 for the third month running, with the Reed Salary Index standing at 97. Employer demand for new staff rose by 10 points or more across core business job sectors, led by IT (a rise of 24 points – 16 percent – to173), Marketing (143) and Qualified Accountants (142), as well as in consumer-facing job sectors such as Retail (145) and Sales (143). Demand in the Public Sector is still low, but is up nine points from the previous month (to 66).

Demand for new staff increased across all 12 UK regions analysed in October. The number of new jobs on offer in London (135) rose ten index points compared with September, falling just short of February’s record high. Martin Warnes, Managing Director of reed.co.uk, comments on the Reed Job Index for October: “Job demand across the country has recovered strongly across nearly all areas of the private sector compared to the previous Quarter. “We do need to be careful not to get carried away by one month’s figures, especially as this increase only brings us back to the level of demand for new staff that the UK was experiencing in the Spring. Nevertheless, the rise suggests a return of employer optimism to a level not seen for the last eight months.”