AVERAGE pay for new jobs in Southampton has risen by more than 10 per cent, a survey claims.

Analysts say employers in the city are defying expectations amid Brexit uncertainty.

But they have warned job-hunters to take advantage of the boom now in case it does not last beyond Britain’s scheduled departure from the European Union on October 31.

The research by job board CV-Library compared market data from September 2019 with the same month in 2018 and found a 10.2 per cent rise in pay for new roles.

Average salaries in the city stood at £35,045 a year.

The number of jobs on offer rose by 21.2 per cent year on year and three per cent month on month.

Lee Biggins, founder and chief executive of CV-Library, said: “This underlying job market growth is certainly surprising given the uncertainty amid Boris Johnson’s unlawful decision to suspend parliament.

“However, despite the Brexit mess we find ourselves in, we know that September is usually a busy month for hiring, which could explain why employers are feeling confident and why the market has experienced such a boom.

“Companies across Southampton are showing their mettle in abnormal hiring conditions and are continuing to defy expectations by pushing forward with their recruitment efforts.

“That said, organisations should be cautious of constantly pushing up pay as it might not be sustainable in the long run.”

Across the UK, applications for jobs rose by 18.9 per cent.

The south saw the biggest jump in candidate appetite. Applications were up 31.9 per cent in Southampton – the second biggest increase recorded in the survey nationwide.

Mr Biggins added: “While the job market is strong and it’s a popular time to search for a job, employers in the city shouldn’t relax and rest on their laurels.

“The Brexit deadline is looming and there’s certainly a bigger issue at hand. We all know that the job market may be affected by a no-deal exit on the 31st and while this is a real possibility, my advice would be to take advantage of this jobs boom now, as we don’t know how long it may last for.”

The research is the latest of several positive pieces of data for the Southampton economy.

The recent UK Powerhouse report, by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), found the city’s output grew 1.6 pent to £6.5billion in gross value added between the second quarters of 2018 and 2019.

The report said Southampton’s economy was expected to grow by another 18.5 per cent over the next decade, with employment set to rise 10 per cent.

As reported in the Daily Echo yesterday, the city’s hotel industry also bucked a national trend, seeing a 6.2 per cent year-on-year rise in business in the first half of 2019. The ICC Cricket World Cup was partly credited with the boost.