A growing sense of confidence among recruiters has been lent an extra boost by new research showing a 6 per cent quarterly growth in the number of advertised North West job vacancies.

The figures are drawn from the European Jobs Index, a research tool compiled by specialist recruiter Robert Walters that tracks job volumes across industry-leading job boards.

Between the last quarter of 2013 and the first three months of 2014, the North West generated more new vacancies than both London (which registered a rise of three per cent) and the Midlands, where the overall volume of advertised jobs fell by more than five per cent.

The steepest rise in quarterly demand in North West has been for professionals in risk and quantitative roles, with the number of advertised vacancies up by 27 per cent.

Human resources professionals are benefitting from a 22 per cent rise in available jobs, while volumes have increased by 19 per cent for those working in procurement.

Chris Poole, director of Robert Walters North West, said: “Among a range of encouraging signs from the index is the variety of sectors and markets in which employer demand has been moving in a positive direction.

“By taking an objective measurement of changes across leading job boards we can see that in the UK, job creation isn’t confined just to London or the financial services sector.

“We are delighted to see the North West leading the charge in creating jobs in the first quarter of 2014, and hopeful of seeing further robust growth throughout the year.”