Salary & vacancy trends
Salary Trends for September 2012
Permanent salaries in engineering continue to increase, but still remain solidly below the rate of inflation. A rise during September of 0.19% means that salaries over the year are up 1.64%. With inflation reported at 2.2%, this still represents a drop in wages when compared to the rising cost of goods.
Chemical Engineers had a particularly good month, seeing permanent salaries increase by 1.15% to a total increase of 6.37% for the year. At the other end, Structural Engineers experienced the first drop in salary for the year (-0.17%), perhaps a sign of things to come with the ending of the Olympic Games.
Contract rates continued to rise, following a series of small rises, but still show a 0.07% overall drop for the year. Chemical Engineers are again the biggest winners from the month, with 0.18% rate rises.
Vacancy Trends for September 2012
September proved a positive month for permanent vacancies with the number of roles rising, by 0.87%, for the first time in 2012. Contract vacancies experienced a drop of 0.61%. Demand across all sectors for skilled engineers remains strong.
Landscape over the last 12 months
This continues to be a difficult marketplace in which to find employment. Vacancies are down 15% in the permanent market and 25% for contract roles. Contract rates are down 0.07% and, while salaries in the permanent sector have risen, the rise is less than the rate of inflation meaning the value is worth less than this time last year.
All this has happened in the shadow of a year that saw the Olympics arrive in Britain, bringing with it the large infrastructure projects that come along with a world-class sporting event. So, while it has been a tough year it could have been very much tougher. The total value of all work within the construction industry has fallen 9.5% compared with the same time last year and the value of new orders (adjusted for inflation) is the lowest since 1980.
Nearly half of the jobs surveyed in the permanent market grew by more than inflation, as did 21% of the contract roles. Chemical, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers did very well for both permanent and contract. The Oil and Gas sector also continues to be a bright spark in this marketplace with vacancies almost at an all-time high.
