Salary growth fastest in North-West

Permanent salaries are growing faster in the North-West region than the rest of the country, according to the Robert Walters 2013 Salary Survey.

The survey shows that salaries are up 1.0% year-on-year in the North-West, compared to 0.9% in the Midlands and 0.6% in both London and the South-East and the UK as a whole.

Some job disciplines have fared better than others. Salary growth has been most significant for secretarial and support professionals, who have seen their pay rise 2.4% in the last year, and in banking and financial services, where it is up 2%. Transactional finance professionals – such as payroll and credit controllers – have also seen their salaries rise 1.4%. But pay has remained stable for accountants, IT specialists, HR workers and sales people across the region.

Chris Poole, Head of Robert Walters’ North-West Office, comments: “Although these salary rises have been fairly modest, the fact salaries are increasing at a faster rate in North-West than other parts of the country comes as no surprise given market sentiment. There is a lot of focus on the region now and a symptom of this is that we are seeing growing interest among employers in relocating outside of London and the South-East.

“While the cost benefits are obvious, there is also the realisation that there doesn’t have to be any sacrifice in terms of quality. There is an increasing acceptance that both the level and depth of talent is very strong. As a result, competition for the best professionals in these locations has intensified, driving pay up.”