The recent decline in hiring activity across Scotland came to an end last month to defy the trend elsewhere in the UK, but whether this can be maintained is questionable as vacancies continued to fall.

According to the latest monthly report on jobs released this morning by the Royal Bank of Scotland, there was a rise in both permanent placements and temporary billings in November. The increase in activity was mild, but brought an end to three months of decline in permanent hiring and 13 months of decline in temporary placements.

By contrast, permanent hiring across the UK experienced a steep decline in November, while there was also a fresh contraction in temporary billings.

READ MORE: Scottish job market shines amid broader economic gloom

That said, responses from recruitment consultancies which form the basis of the bank's report indicated that demand for permanent staff fell for the fourth month in a row and was steeper than that at UK level.

The number of temporary vacancies across the UK expanded modestly but again in Scotland the trend was in the opposite direction with a fourth consecutive monthly deterioration. The pace of this deterioration was described as "sharp", but easing from that seen in October.

"Successful recruitment drives and the commencement of projects at clients supported increases in both permanent placements and temp billings during November," Royal Bank chief economist Sebastian Burnside said.

"The fresh and broad-based upturn in hiring contrasted with a downturn across the UK as whole, with permanent staff recruitment particularly weak at the UK level. It is difficult to know whether the increases can be sustained in December and into the coming year, however, given the fall in overall vacancies."

On the pay front there was a steep rise in permanent starting salaries across Scotland in November, extending the current run of salary growth to three years. The rate of inflation accelerated after easing slightly in October and remains at historically high levels as businesses battle against skills shortages.

Adjusted for seasonal factors, temporary wages in Scotland registered above the neutral mark of 50.0 to stretch the current period of pay growth to three years. The rate of increase softened from October but remained stronger than the series average.

READ MORE: Scotland economy: Jobs growth fastest in UK, output down

“In terms of pay, a lack of suitably-skilled candidates often led employers to bump up their pay offers to attract the right talent, making it a good time for job seekers if they wish to secure a better paid role," Mr Burnside said.

The number of people available to fill permanent roles fell again to extend the current sequence of decline that began in February 2021. This was linked to hesitancy among workers to change job amid economic uncertainty.

After rising for the first time in more than two and a half years in October, Scottish recruiters recorded another expansion of temporary candidate supply in November. The rate of growth gathered pace and was strong overall, with some recruiters citing redundancies as the driving factor.