Evidence showing that Scotland's local authorities have recently slashed their recruitment advertising in newspapers – not least because they have their own, dedicated jobs website – has been gathered by BBC Scotland.
Writes Jamie McIvor, figures show, for instance, that Scotland's largest local authority – Glasgow City Council – spent £668,000 on recruitment adverts in 2007-8 but just £137,979 last year.
Says McIvor: “Of the money spent last year, about a third was spent on adverts in the Evening Times, The Herald and the Sunday Herald. Most of the rest was spent on adverts in specialist titles such as the Times Educational Supplement and on the internet.
“The story at Edinburgh City Council was similar. A cut from £553,000 in 2007 to £88,000 in the last financial year.
“But the drop in newspaper recruitment advertising by some smaller authorities has been even more dramatic. Fife Council's spending fell from £714,000 to £23,000, Stirling Council's from £295,000 to just under £9,000 and North Ayrshire's from £346,000 to just under £25,000.”
The local authorities website myjobscotland was launched three years ago.
