The figures are taken from the Robert Walters European Jobs Index for the first quarter of the year. London saw an increase of 17%, while the North West was the healthiest region, with growth of just over 20%.
The results show HR has the fastest growing number of vacancies in the study, along with tax professionals (15%) and risk and quantitative staff (14%). Other business services sectors fared worse – IT advertised roles were down by 6%. The average growth across all sectors for the quarter was 3%.
Robert Walters HR director Colin Loth told HR magazine the expansion of HR departments is down to ongoing financial growth.
“With employers increasingly optimistic about the pace of the economic recovery, many are taking this opportunity to reinvest and add new capability to human resources departments," he said.
“To avoid the risk of headcount shortages, we are advising employers to implement efficient hiring processes and ensure a flexible approach to remuneration.”
Tim Gilbert, Robert Walters' director of marketing, sales and IT, said it is good to see that growth is not restricted to London and financial services.
"Among a range of encouraging signs from the Index is the variety of sectors and markets in which employer demand has been moving in a positive direction," he said. "We are hopeful of seeing robust growth in advertised vacancy levels both in the UK and across the continent throughout 2014."
