C&M Travel Recruitment’s latest Travel Salary Index found Cook’s failure on 23 September fuelled a 22% rise in candidates the following month, with more new candidates registering with C&M in October than at any point during 2019.
Moreover, C&M said the number of new travel jobs being created increased for the third month in succession, up 5% in October, highlighting the demand for ex-Cook staff.
Average salaries for new jobs in travel increased 3.87% in October to £29,280 – £6 shy of the June high recorded by C&M. These salaries, meanwhile, are up 5.78% during the year to the end of October 2019.
Wages for standard travel jobs, those paying up to £40,000, increased by an even larger margin during October – 4.59% – to reach their second highest level since the index began in 2012.
The average figure of £25,965 is second only to the rate recorded in June 2018 of £26,099, while the rolling 12-month average is up 4.19%.
October was also a positive month for travel salaries in both the north and south of the country, with wages up 4.48% month-on-month in the south and 3.66% in the north.
Barbara Kolosinska, director at C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment, said: “October was a very positive month all round for travel recruitment, with candidates, vacancies and salaries all rising.
“Wages have now increased year-on-year for the past 17 months in a row, but this is because of the lack of candidates looking to change roles. There are now signs this appears to be slowly changing and that candidates are beginning to explore job opportunities again, but what we need to see is consistency.
Looking ahead, Kolosinska added there were headwinds on the horizon.
“Concerns around the general election and Brexit are continuing to hamper the travel recruitment market,” she said.
“But with salaries at near-record levels, there are many fantastic career openings available for the right applicants.”
