Close to a quarter of a million job adverts were posted in the first week of November, suggesting companies are ramping up hiring in the run-up to the festive period.
According to new research by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), 221,000 new job postings became live in the UK in the first week of November.
Data indicates that this is the fourth highest weekly figure since the beginning of 2020, showing the rise in recruitment shows no signs of slowing down as the Christmas period comes nearer.
In total, the number of active job postings reached 2.68 million last week, marking another new record high.
Notable growth was found across a broad range of sectors in November with the largest increases evident for jobs including driving instructors (+32.3 per cent), prison officers (+13.0 per cent), fork-lift truck drivers (+9.1 per cent), secondary school teachers (+9.1 per cent) and care workers (+7.1 per cent).
Conversely, there were declines in job adverts for a number of construction sector jobs, including painters and decorators (-17.8 per cent), roofers (-13.4 per cent), plasterers (-11.3 per cent), bricklayers (-11.3 per cent) and carpenters (-9.1 per cent), as well as other roles in the sector.
This has been attributed to supply chain delays and labour shortages which have put constraints on the building industry.
Regionally, places such as Swindon, Liverpool and Cornwall saw notable rises in job adverts in addition to some areas of London including Harrow and Hillingdon and Bexley and Greenwich.
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, stated:
The latest job advert numbers show recruitment activity staying strong in the run-up to Christmas.
The general positive trend varies by region and sector, however. London has been affected more than other areas by the rise of hybrid working, and its jobs market continues to grow at a slower pace than the rest of the UK. And while roles in logistics and care are in high demand, the construction sector saw a drop-off last week as supply issues constrained the industry’s ability to work to capacity.
It’s vital that, as the recovery continues, government put measures in place that will help companies invest with confidence, thereby increasing productivity and helping the economy to grow.
That includes a revolution in the skills system, especially focused on helping those furthest from the labour market into work.
The best way to achieve this is through collaboration between business and government, with joined up planning to meet the economy’s needs and deliver prosperity.
*The Jobs Recovery Tracker is produced by the REC in partnership with Emsi, using their Job Postings Analytics data which is harvested from tens of thousands of job boards. Data was harvested between 25 October and 7 November 2021.
Monica Sharma is an English Literature graduate from the University of Warwick. As Editor for HRreview, her particular interests in HR include issues concerning diversity, employment law and wellbeing in the workplace. Alongside this, she has written for student publications in both England and Canada. Monica has also presented her academic work concerning the relationship between legal systems, sexual harassment and racism at a university conference at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
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