Job opportunities fell in December, according the latest Reed Job Index.

The index fell seven index points in the month but was up 4% on the same period last year.

The findings also show salaries for new jobs rose last month by three points, to give a Reed Salary Index reading of 99, 1% down year-on-year and nearly back to their level of 12 months ago.

Martin Warnes, managing director of reed.co.uk, says: “There are good grounds for cautious optimism about new job prospects in 2011. Rising private sector demand has been enough to create year-on-year growth overall, despite steep falls in new public sector jobs. Demand has accelerated in job sectors as different as consultancy, marketing, banking and engineering. Salaries have stabilised and in key areas increased, with skills shortages starting to re-appear.

“It is true that job growth over the last 12 months has been modest rather than spectacular. The real falls in salaries across the board show there remains spare people capacity, and there are clearly economic challenges ahead. Yet the jobs economy has undoubtedly avoided a much-predicted double dip in 2010 and the private sector continues to lead a steady recovery in new job demand.”