Last week, there were 143,000 new job postings, the lowest figure recorded for 2022, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)’s and Lightcast latest Labour Market Tracker.
This is 8.3 percent lower than a month earlier.
There were 1.45 million active job adverts in the UK – lower than any point since the pandemic, but still a high level relative to pre-pandemic.
What saw the biggest increase in job adverts?
However, there were notable increases in job adverts within the education sector as the new school year starts.
Namely, school secretaries (+8.8%), crossing patrol occupations (+7.7%), teaching professionals (+6.4%), and secondary teachers (+4.0%).
West Midlands saw growth in job postings in the week of 19-25 September, with three of the top ten hiring hotspots in London.
However, the local area with the highest increase in job adverts was Southampton (+6.6%), followed by West Cumbria (+6.4%) and Telford and Wrekin (+5.3%).
Who saw the biggest decline in job adverts?
On the other hand, driving instructors (-15.5%) saw the biggest weekly decline in active job adverts, followed by ship and hovercraft officers (-12.0%), and Floorers and wall tilers (-11.3%).
Also, six out of the bottom ten local areas for growth in active job postings were in Northern Ireland.
Of those, Newry, Mourne and Down (-16.2%), Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (-14.1%), and Derry City and Strabane (-13.5%) saw the biggest falls.
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said:
“Weekly jobs postings have returned to levels last seen in April this year. Employer demand is still significant, but a cooling-off is no surprise. With inflation high, and employers concerned about the economic picture, some moderation in hiring from the sugar rush of the past year was predictable.
“That said, we are entering a new phase in our labour market. Workforce shortages make the impact of a slowdown on hiring much more unpredictable. It is far less likely that we will see much higher candidate availability, especially for roles requiring key skills, even if the economy slows.
“For businesses, working with skilled recruiters to adapt their offer to this market is essential. Changes to IR35 rules announced last week will help with bringing more labour on stream – but Government also needs to address the other key elements of making the UK a great place to invest and create jobs. That includes skills reform, and stability in the fiscal and monetary outlook.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
