eFinancialCareers

Salaries in Scotland are rising faster than ever, and financial services temps are riding the wave.

The new Scottish Labour Market Report, published this week by Bank of Scotland, shows salaries in the country increasing at their fastest level for four years. The report highlights soaring demand for contractors in the financial services sector, where it says pay is rising particularly rapidly.

Tim Crawford, group economist at Bank of Scotland, comments: "The Scottish labour market continues to perform well with a rise in both permanent and temporary employment in May. However, staff availability is quite tight and many employers are offering higher salaries to attract new staff."

Graham Burns, director of recruitment at the Edinburgh office of Robert Walters, confirms the market for financial services temps in Scotland is in rude health. Back in February, Robert Walters identified a trend for "Try before you buy" in the financial services sector, which Burns says is continuing.

At the same time, Edinburgh-based financial services firms are increasingly prepared to pay what's needed to secure talent that might otherwise head to London.

This isn't to say that Edinburgh now pays on a par – there's still a pay differential of between £3 and £5 per hour between the two cities, according to Burns. But once rent and travel costs are added into the mix, he says Edinburgh comes out best: "I would suggest that rent is 50% less here and that is what we are highlighting [to candidates] and also often work is within walking distance so you don't have the cost of the monthly or weekly travelcard."