Candidate Shortage Leads To New Record For Travel Salaries

C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment’s Travel Salary Index – April 2019 

• Average new travel salaries rise to new record high in April
• Wages for standard travel jobs also see strong rise
• Candidate and vacancy numbers remain subdued

Huge month for travel salaries…

The average salary for a new travel job rose 2.91 per cent last month to set a new record high of £28,382, according to the latest Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment which surveyed all new vacancies registered with the companies during the month.

The figure topped the previous high set last June and is only the second time that average salaries have ever broken through the £28,000 barrier. This also means that wages have increased by 4.9 per cent across the past 12 months.

The overall rise was recorded despite a 1.55 per cent monthly fall in salaries in the north of the UK where wages slipped back to £23,656. However, a very strong 7.95 per cent jump in the south saw salaries reach £28,777 – their highest level since June 2018 and 4.06 per cent higher than last April.

It was also a very positive month for standard travel jobs (those paying up to £40,000), with wages jumping 3.77 per cent in April to reach their highest point of 2019 so far. The total of £25,752 was also up by 6.63 per cent from the same month last year and is up 7.17 per cent on the rolling 12-month average.

…Slow month for candidates and vacancies

Candidate numbers held steady with March's total, but still saw a sharp 38 per cent fall from last April signifying that the shortage of quality applicants is continuing to affect the market. Vacancy numbers also fell by 23 per cent compared to the same month last year to result in the weakest April since 2014.

Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Director at C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment, said: "It really was a month of two halves. In terms of salaries, everything was very positive with wages for new travel jobs reaching a record high while we also had a massive 8 per cent jump in pay in the south.

“However, at the same time we continued to see a candidate shortage with many of the best travel professionals choosing to remain in their current roles rather than seek out any new opportunities. This has clearly resulted in a huge demand for quality candidates and, as our salary results show, companies are increasingly willing to improve their wages and benefits packages in an effort to attract the best applicants.”

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All figures are drawn from the salaries of the month’s new vacancies advertised with C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment.

C&M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.

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