Careers ServiceLabour market intelligence (LMI)

What is Labour Market Intelligence?

Labour market intelligence (LMI) comes from looking at what recent graduates have done and at what employers and economic consultants predict as areas of future growth in the graduate labour market.

When you are looking for a job, take time to focus on the state of the labour market and what that means for graduate recruitment.

You might have to take a number of issues into consideration such as:

  • how are developments in the local, national and world economy affecting the occupation or sector you wish to enter?
  • which are the potential growth sectors - and which are in decline?
  • is the type of work you want more readily available in some locations than in others?
  • what are employers' requirements for entry to your ideal career?
  • is there a skills shortage or an over-supply of skilled labour in your preferred career?
  • who recruits graduates with your type of degree - particularly from Strathclyde?
  • what are starting salaries like in various occupations?

Scottish LMI

The following websites provide information on various aspects of the labour market in Scotland. Brief descriptions indicate the content to be found in these resources and the contexts in which they could be useful.

The CBI is the UK's top business lobby organisation. They have influence with Government policymakers, legislators and unions. The organisation produces useful LMI resources in the form of PDF Policy briefs on issues such as employment and manufacturing. There's a specific area of the site dedicated to Scotland which includes some Scottish specific policy briefs.

The FSB in Scotland represents the interests of almost 20,000 Scottish members. Official Scottish Government statistics show that Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) now account for 99% of all Scottish businesses and for over half of all private sector employment.

Scotland’s leading independent regional economic research unit which carries out research into regional economic issues in general and for the Scottish economy in particular.

The Scottish LMI framework is set part of the Scottish Government's website. It outlines the sources of labour market intelligence in Scotland. It also provides general statistics on the economy.

Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's national economic development agency. Its aim is to stimulate sustainable growth of Scotland's economy. This is done through the encouragement of enterprise, innovation, and investment.

(Formally the Sector Skills Council)

The Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards represents, promotes and supports the 21 Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) across the UK. SSCs are the employer-led skills organisations covering in total approximately 90% of the UK workforce.

Skills Development Scotland is a non-departmental public body. It's Scotland’s skills agency with the following aims:

  • enabling people to meet their potential. This is done through the support of a modern careers, information, advice, and guidance service
  • making skills work for employers by providing training that meets their needs
  • working together to improve the skills and learning system with local and national partners, making this accessible to individuals and employers
  • achieving organisational excellence through good practice and the strengths of our people
  • local authority profiles
  • media monitoring of job gains and losses
  • sectoral LMI profiles
  • research online with all major LMI research for the last 10 years

Additional Sources of LMI

The main repository for data on graduate destinations. Produces a number of publications on graduate destinations, including the Employment Performance Indicators (EPI). Also provides free, online statistics. HESA also hosts/supports HEIDI, an online interrogation tool for all of the data streams returned to HESA. This is now free to use by all HEIs in the UK.

Independent, nonpartisan research and policy institute committed to improving the economic performance of UK cities. Produces city by city labour market updates for the whole of the UK as well as labour market briefings for the labour market in general.

Frequently publish labour market statistics – these are UK and have both all labour market data and graduate labour market data.

Prospects Luminate is the home of data, trends, best practice and thought leadership on careers guidance, early careers recruitment, and student and graduate experience

IES was established in 1969. It was an independent, national centre of expertise on productivity, manpower planning and labour market change. Since that time it has expanded to become the UK’s leading independent centre for research and evidence-based consultancy in employment, labour market and human resource policy and practice. It's not-for-profit. Its activities are funded through research and consultancy commissions, and from its corporate membership programme.

The IER is one of Europe's leading centres for labour market research. It's concerned with the development of scientific knowledge about the socioeconomic system. It provides multi-disciplinary and multi-method research. Its work includes comparative European research on employment, focusing on the UK at national, regional, and local levels.