The North East of the UK has seen the largest drop in advertised salaries in December, according to Adzuna.
The UK Job Market Report found that advertised salaries in the North East fell by an average of 5.3%, with the average advertised salary totalling £29,093. The next largest decreases were found in London and Scotland, where the average fell by 5.2%. The overall UK average was a fall of 3.5%.
The South East was the least affected area, suffering a fall of only 1.5%. The average salary there was £32,167.
Consultancy jobs finished the year with an average advertised salary of £49,626, up 11.1% from £44,687 in December 2014. Only customer service roles saw a higher annual growth rate (of 15%). Advertised salaries for HR and recruitment positions reached an average of £30,598, increasing by 4.2% from £29,370.
But energy, oil and gas jobs experienced a wage fall of 13.7%, and legal positions declined by 10.9%.
Overall, the number of advertised vacancies available in December stood at 1,164,502, a fall of 6.4% month-on-month from 1,244,772 in November. Although some seasonal dip is expected in December the research stated that this year's fall is much greater than in previous Decembers.
Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, said it has been a difficult year for the North East’s job market. “For an area dependent on industry, tough times in the manufacturing sector have had a knock-on effect,” he said. “And other sectors haven’t picked up the slack in order to cover job losses. The region appears to have been overshadowed by the North West when it comes to initiatives aimed at improving employment and skills.
“The area remains among the worst in the UK for unemployment and there aren’t many signs of this changing. Many young people are undoubtedly moving south to find better opportunities and this is depriving the area of some of its best talent and skills."
