The number of permanent jobs across Scotland fell again in October but the rate of decline is more moderate.
Data from the Royal Bank of Scotland has shown that permanent jobs have continued to fall.
Those who responded to the survey said the drop was down to firms suspending hiring during the coronavirus pandemic.
But there is better news on temporary posts with growth the most marked since late-2018, amid reports of firmer demand for short-term staff and lingering uncertainty around the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
Survey data signalled the first rise in temporary staff vacancies since February.
But the availability of both permanent and temporary candidates continued to rise sharply amid
reports of further redundancies, although the rates of increase did ease from September.
Sebastian Burnside, chief economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “Jobseekers had a tougher time finding permanent positions in October as economic growth momentum began to fade as the summer came to an end.
“Firms did manage to fill more temporary vacancies, perhaps reflecting their understandable uncertainty about the resilience of demand.
“But with stricter Covid restrictions introduced across much of the central belt and a new tiering system, we don’t expect the bright spot of more temporary vacancies to last for long.
“November will bring a new lockdown for England, which will dampen trade in general but also hit the tourism economy particularly hard.
“Firms have shown great ingenuity to adapt to operating in the Covid economy this year; this winter looks to be setting yet another test.”
