Manufacturing drives double-digit wage growth in Yorkshire

Advertised average salaries for the region grew 10.76 per cent, compared to a rise of 5.8 per cent across the UK, according to Adzuna.

The job ad search engine’s December job market report cited high demand for skilled services “driven by the Northern powerhouse” as key to the strong performance.

Yorkshire and the Humber saw the third biggest improvement, behind the North East at 11.6 per cent and the South West at 10.89 per cent.

Andy Hunter, co-founder at Adzuna, said a “manufacturing boom” had buoyed the Northern job markets for the year.

He said: “The traditional home of manufacturing in the UK is seeing a new demand for highly-skilled labour, which is reflected in healthy annual wage growth.”

Despite the positive boost to wages, the average advertised salary in Yorkshire ad the Humber was almost £6,000 behind the UK’s average, at £28,647.

Across the UK, wages in manufacturing grew 14.5 per cent to £30,678, while trade and construction saw a 10.4 per cent increase to £38,704.

The only sector to see greater improvement was customer service. Average pay packets grew 16.5 per cent to £21,353.

Mr Hunter said: “No company worth their salt can afford to ignore the potential of social media to influence their business prospects.

“Proactive and wide-ranging customer care is now an essential part of any sensible business model.”

While all regions of Northern England saw wage growth above the UK average, Scotland saw the least growth at just 0.53 per cent for 2014.

Waning salaries in the dominant energy, oil and gas sector were compounded by political instability as a result of the independence referendum, Mr Hunter said.

December saw a record 949,788 vacancies advertised, Adzuna said. The number of job seekers per ad also fell to a post-recession low of 0.89, with jobs outnumbering job seekers for a second consecutive month.