Travel industry pay rose last month to the highest level in more than a year, latest figures show.
Average salaries for newly advertised jobs jumped by 5.7% to hit £25,214, according to the latest Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment and Chisholm & Moore Executive Recruitment.
The increase in May was also the biggest monthly rise the index has seen since January 2013, while the three-month average figure rose as well.
Company sales director Barbara Kolosinska said: “May was a hugely encouraging month for the travel recruitment market with salaries rising at their fastest pace since the start of 2013.
“This was down to consistent salary increases across a wide range of jobs in the sector as well as a large rise in the number of senior and executive travel roles, but perhaps most impressive was the strong increase in salaries for standard travel jobs – particularly in the Midlands and North of England.”
May also saw double figure percentage increases in both the number of new candidates registering for roles and the amount of jobs being made available, although both remain down annually.
Kolosinska added: “Despite many stories in the press about the lack of candidates applying for jobs in recent months, at C&M we actually saw an increase in applicants in May.
“However, the number of candidates remains down compared to last year meaning that now is still a great time for people to see which travel jobs are available and take advantage of the lack of competition.”