Wow, what a year this has been. Without doubt it has been the most challenging almost everyone (bar those who were around during WWII) can remember. 

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  The November Markit figures popped into my inbox this morning.  As shown here, for the UK as a whole, there is an impression that we are witnessing a V-shaped of recovery, but in fact the combined index for the country as a whole is still below the magical 50 (it’s actually at 47).  

When you look at Scotland specifically and the different sectors (see tables below), it’s clear that some are actually doing quite well, while others (who would be in hospitality just now?) are struggling badly.  

For construction and property, the Markit figures by-and-large reflect what we are seeing at Peace, albeit we are doing better in the perm arena than the figure below for engineering and construction suggests (we had a very good November).  That said, it has been a year to forget and I am sure I’ not the only one who is looking forward to a break at Christmas…

Chris Peace, MD, Peace Recruitment