Bury St Edmunds: Recruiters’ double delight as record month boosted by 35% sales lift

A recruitment firm has been placing more managers and graduates in work than in any previous period of its history.

Bury St Edmunds-based Cooper Lomaz is celebrating a record month for placements after doubling the number of people for which it has found full-time work last month.

The firm, established in Bury St Edmunds 23 years ago and with offices in Lowestoft and Norwich, specialises in placing graduate, high-skilled and management candidates.

Meanwhile the number of vacancies on Cooper Lomaz’s books has grown by 35%.

Operations director Mark Fletcher said: “Over recent months we have been placing 40-50 people in permanent full-time jobs. In July that number jumped to 91. That’s a very big uplift – it’s the highest number of placements in one month in Cooper Lomaz’s history.”

He added: “The number of vacancies on our website averages 350. Currently it is 471 and rising,” said Mr Fletcher.

“The figures reflect the growing level of confidence among our client businesses. Companies are feeling much more positive about hiring additional staff.”

The biggest challenge Cooper Lomaz faces is filling a huge demand for specialists in the burgeoning oil gas and renewable energy sector, it says.

“Even here we’ve had a number of successes and have filled a number of positions over the past six weeks,” said Mr Fletcher.

The feel-good factor has fuelled an expansion at the firm, with 11 staff hired since January and four vacancies to fill.

“The recruitment industry is always regarded as a good barometer of the economy. Recruitment is the first thing to be affected as confidence goes down. And it is one of the first areas where a returning optimism can be detected,” said Mr Fletcher.