There was further improvement in the Scottish labour market during June, the Bank of Scotland has reported.

However, there was a slowdown in the improvement.

The latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs said this partly reflected a higher number of people placed into jobs, with Scottish recruitment agencies reporting a continued rise in demand for new staff. However, the rates of vacancy growth for permanent and temporary workers were the slowest in five and nine months respectively.

The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Barometer – a composite indicator designed to provide a single figure snapshot of labour market conditions – registered 55.2 in June and signalled a solid improvement in Scotland’s job market. The latest reading was above the long-run series average and higher than the UK equivalent. That said, the Barometer fell from 56.5 in May and was the lowest reading in Q2

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “The Scottish labour market improved in June