Scotland's small firms increase headcounts

Small businesses and other firms in Scotland increased the number of permanent and temporary members of staff on their books at the end of last year, according to a new report.

Bank of Scotland's Report on Jobs revealed that part-time and full-time hiring improved markedly in the final month of 2012 as firms looked to increase their headcounts.

Indeed, Scotland witnessed the strongest increases in permanent and temporary employment in eight and 23 months respectively, the report revealed.

Donald MacRae, Chief Economist at Bank of Scotland, said that the labour market is improving at its quickest rate since May 2011.

"The number of people appointed to permanent jobs rose to an eight-month high while temporary job appointments increased at the strongest rate since January 2011," he noted.

"Vacancies for permanent staff rose strongly in the month. These results suggest the Scottish economy has exited the recent period of slowdown and is entering 2013 in growth mode."

It comes after the Confederation of British Industry called for a greater investment in businesses last week.

Posted by Emily Smith

Date published 21 Jan 2013 | Last updated 21 Jan 2013