Despite salaries decreasing in the last few months of 2019, the number of job applications rose.
This is according to CV-Library, who found that salaries dropped by 7.8 per cent towards the end of 2019, this being the first time they have fallen since Q1 2018 year-on-year. London saw a drop of 3.4 per cent, Glasgow 4.8 per cent, and Liverpool 4.4 per cent.
Still, job applications increased by 7.6 per cent across the UK, this being the first time it has risen year-on-year since 2016.
The cities that saw the largest growth in applications are:
- Portsmouth (up 33.9 per cent)
- Southampton (up 17.3 per cent)
- Edinburgh (16.9 per cent)
- Exeter (up 15.7 per cent)
- Brighton (up 14.2 per cent)
- Aberdeen (up 12 per cent)
- London (up 10.2 per cent)
- Glasgow (up 9.9 per cent)
- Bristol (up 8.9 per cent)
- Leicester (up 7.2 per cent)
Job adverts actually grew by 4 per cent year-on-year across the UK, even though salaries decreased.
Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library said:
It’s no surprise that salaries were substantially lower in Q4 2019 than in the previous year. The final few months of 2019 saw a great deal of political uncertainty; between the original Brexit deadline and the December general election, businesses were forced to tighten their belts and prepare for the worst.
However, it’s clear that this drop in pay didn’t put candidates off applying for new roles. While this is positive for businesses across the UK, it’s unusual to see growth in applications at this time of year. This suggests that professionals are tired of waiting for the current political landscape to settle and that they might be looking for something other than a high salary when it comes to changing jobs.
While some cities saw substantial increases in jobs, the majority of the UK saw much smaller levels of growth. This suggests that businesses are still nervous to expand their workforce in the current climate; especially now that we’re just days away from the next Brexit deadline.
However, it’s important to keep investing in top talent – even during times of uncertainty. Ensuring that your company has a passionate and dedicated workforce will help to future-proof your business, so now is the perfect time to think about pushing forward with your recruitment efforts.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
