THE region's buoyant jobs market is proving to be a happy hunting ground for a North-East recruitment agency.

Northern Recruitment Group (NRG), based in Newcastle, has announced strong interim results, with pre-tax profits for the past six months up 68 per cent, from £600,000 to £1m.

Chief executive Lorna Moran said: "The group has achieved another six months of strong profit and earnings growth, building on a substantially improved performance last year, and delivering a further significant increase in our cash balances."

Turnover was up five per cent to £11m and fees earned from securing permanent employment places had risen by 34 per cent.

The North-East remained its heartland, but an expansion into Yorkshire was also proving a success and the group intends to branch out into Humberside and Scotland.

City analysts said the success was due to the ongoing public sector boom and a healthy regional economy.

Group chairman Herman Leslie Melville said: "Prospects for our market place as a whole are encouraging. The group is well placed to continue outperforming the industry trends, benefiting from further strong demand from the public and not-for-profit sectors and a good pipeline of new business prospects in the private sector."

Aidan Dunstan, investment director at investment management firm Laing and Cruickshank, also based in Newcastle, said: "Both the figures and the company statement about the future are impressive. Companies are coming out of what has been a difficult economic time, and are more likely now to employ people on a permanent basis.

"This is good news for groups like NRG, which make higher profit margins from permanent placements."