Job creation at lowest level for a year in the region

With a score of minus three per cent, the region, which until this point had experienced “a positive and consistent year” with regard to hiring sentiment, is lagging behind the rest of the country. The survey, based on responses from 2,104 UK employers, asks whether they intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming economic quarter.

The national seasonally adjusted net employment outlook of plus six per cent indicates “sustained optimism” in the UK jobs market, building on the third quarter of 2013 when the outlook was plus five per cent and ensuring 2013 finishes with the strongest fourth-quarter forecast since before the financial crisis. But the Yorkshire region is seeing some positive growth in a number of sectors with manufacturing and banking services among those creating jobs, said Amanda White, operations manager at Manpower.

However, she added: “The problem is that this really is a tale of two cities – Leeds and the surrounding area versus the older cities in Yorkshire such as Bradford.

“Whilst Leeds and the neighbouring towns and villages are experiencing growth from an influx of tech companies, telecoms players and other VC backed start-ups; some of the larger, more traditional employers in the likes of Bradford are reducing headcounts with some even moving out of the region altogether.”