Senior level secretaries in demand as salaries rise to boom year levels
Secretarial and support recruitment returned to 2007 levels in some areas as firms reacted to increased workloads, the latest Market Update from recruitment specialists Robert Walters reveals.

Julie-Anne Page, Associate Director of Robert Walters' secretarial and support recruitment division, comments:

'We saw a dramatic increase in demand for experienced executive assistants capable of supporting managing directors, chairman and CEO/COOs are highly sought-after. This trend suggests that the market may be returning to the days of the traditional one-to-one PA, after demand declined significantly for these roles during the recession.

'We also saw an increase in vacancies at a more junior levels too, particularly for administrative and reception roles. This is a sign of growing market confidence as companies invest in areas previously considered non business-critical.

'Pay for senior PAs has risen in line with this increased demand. Throughout quarter one, they could expect £16-£17 per hour, but this rose to £17-£19 an hour in quarter two. Although permanent salaries remained largely unchanged, we did see a slight increase. We envisage this trend will continue into quarter three as it becomes a more candidate driven market resulting in counter and multiple offers.'