Coronavirus: UK vacancies up 53% since May to hit half a million
Vacancy numbers have soared past the half-a-million mark as employers resume hiring with lockdown restrictions easing. This is mainly down to a drive in hiring in ‘key worker’ roles across logistics, warehouse, cleaning, and supermarket jobs.
The number of job ads on listings site Adzuna hit 535,500 at the end of August, up 53% on the lows seen in mid-May.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said the data showed confidence was starting to return among employers.
But vacancy levels remain 40% lower than levels seen in the first seven weeks of the year, before the coronavirus began to hit hiring and the lockdown paralysed Britain’s economy.
Hunter said the recovery in hiring was also “patchy” between regions and sectors, however.
Job cuts have been widespread and are expected to continue in many industries, with official data showing staff numbers on employer payrolls were 730,000 lower in July than March.
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But analysis by Adzuna on Monday shows not only recruitment gradually picking up, but also how some sectors have “beaten the odds” and been hiring above pre-virus levels.
Vacancies for logistics and warehouse roles are up 24% to 43,200, as demand for home deliveries has soared.
Amazon (AMZN) announced plans last week to create 7,000 new jobs this year, and Tesco (TSCO.L) announced last month it would hire 16,000 permanent staff. Analysis by Yahoo Finance UK found supermarkets have taken on at least 136,000 staff since the pandemic began.
Domestic help and cleaning vacancies are also 8% higher than the start of the year, with 8,800 jobs on offer. Healthcare and nursing remains the most in-demand sector despite available roles dropping 13%,with 74,800 roles currently available.
Hunter said the data showed some sectors and regions were “richer job hunting grounds than others.”
READ MORE: UK supermarkets have created 136,000 roles since the pandemic began
Adzuna, which also provides job-hunting services for the department for work and pensions (DWP) and data for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released figures on the locations with the fewest jobseekers per vacancy.
Cambridge and Guildford both have more jobs than jobseekers, with IT roles the most in-demand. Winchester, Reading, and Exeter had the next fewest jobseekers per advert, with healthcare, IT, and trade and construction the biggest hiring sectors in each area respectively.
London topped the list for the highest number of total vacancies, with 42,700 roles on Adzuna’s site. Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Dudley were also in the top five.
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