Record year for travel recruitment
The number of new travel industry job vacancies jumped 22.5% last year, according to the latest data from recruitment firm C&M.
Analysis of the full year figures from C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment revealed the biggest annual rise ever recorded on the index.
The rise caps a bumper 12 months which saw vacancy numbers increase year-on-year in every month of 2017.
Last year also saw a record 40% rise in the number of new job seekers, 19% above the previous record total set in 2013.
Candidate numbers increased year-on-year in every month of 2017 apart from in December, when they dipped by just 1.47%.
Meanwhile, the average travel salary for a new job rose steadily, for the third consecutive year, and reached £26,031 in 2017, another new high since the index began.
The 1.58% (£405) annual rise follows increases of 1.8% in 2016 and 1.46% in 2015, with the average new role in travel now paying £1,221 more than in 2014.
However, while average salaries in the south of the UK rose, the figure fell in the north.
In the south, average salaries jumped to a record £27,998 after an increase of 1.81% following rises of 3.58% in 2016 and 3.40% in 2015.
However, in the north wages fell after five years of continual growth.
The average new travel job in the north now comes with an average salary of £21,973, down by 0.48% from last year’s record high.
Across the whole of the UK, standard jobs (those paying below £40,000), rose by 5.41% to set another record high of £23,073 after having risen by 5.52% in 2016 and 5.27% in 2015.
Salaries for executive travel jobs (those paying more than £40,000) rose by 0.87% to reach £54,582 in 2017 after increasing by 1.53% in 2016.
But the average executive pay packet remains below the 2014 peak of £58,418.
"The travel industry had to deal with and adapt to a number of challenges in 2017, but fortunately recruitment levels were unaffected and in fact increased from 2016," said Barbara Kolosinska, director at both companies.
"We also saw salaries rising to record highs across the country, with the annual average wage for a new travel job crossing the £26,000 barrier for the first time.
"Overall, it was an incredibly encouraging year for the travel recruitment sector with lots to celebrate – and we’re quietly confident that 2018 will be even busier."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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