Jobs Recovery Tracker: Job advert numbers rise by over 600,000 since the end of August to new record high

• In the week of 4-10 October, there were 2.29 million active job adverts in the UK, a new record high
• In the same week there were around 235,000 new job postings – the second highest weekly figure since data collection began
• Job advert numbers have spiked over the past six weeks, increasing by over 600,000 since the end of August
• Almost every upper tier local authority in the UK recorded at least a marginal increase in active job postings last week
•  Four out of the UK’s top ten hiring hotspots were in Wales last week, led by Swansea (+15.9%)
• Biggest rises in adverts for sports and leisure assistants (+15.3%), cleaning and housekeeping managers and supervisors (+14.8%), and library clerks and assistants (+12.3%)

There were 2.29 million active job adverts posted in the week of 4-10 October, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)’s latest Jobs Recovery Tracker.

Growth in job adverts shows no signs of slowing down. The total number of active job postings in the UK has increased by over 600,000 (36%) since the last week of August, including 235,000 new adverts that were posted online last week.

This growth has been spread across the whole country, with almost every upper tier local authority and occupation in the UK seeing a rise in active job postings last week. This will make competition for staff even more fierce in the coming weeks, with many sectors ramping up their activity as we head towards the Christmas period.

Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said:

“The past month has seen a remarkable spike in job adverts, with 235,000 new ads posted last week. Businesses from almost every sector and local area are hiring right now, and with so much competition for staff, many businesses are having to offer increased salaries and benefits to attract the people they need.

“It’s a good time to be looking for work right now – but this bounce-back phase will pass. As the sugar rush fades, future opportunities will be defined by the strength of our underlying economy – notably the extent to which there are capacity constraints on growth, and what progress firms can make on productivity. To truly level up, it’s time for government to work with businesses on skills, including at lower skills levels, capital investment and workforce planning to make sure we have a soft landing after this boom. And all of this needs to be as relevant for temporary workers – the flexible backbone of our economy – as for those staff in permanent roles.”

While growth was recorded in almost every local area in the UK, Wales saw the largest increase in active job postings last week. Four out of the top ten hiring hotspots last week were in Wales, the most notable being Swansea (+15.9%). This was followed by the Gwent Valleys (+10.7%), Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan (+10.7%) and Powys (+10.6%).

There were only three local areas that recorded declines in active job postings last week – Thurrock (-3.8%), the Shetland Islands (-3.8%) and na h-Eileanan Siar (-0.2%).

Last week saw growth in job adverts across almost all occupations, with the largest increase in active job adverts for sports and leisure assistants (+15.3%), cleaning and housekeeping managers and supervisors (+14.8%), and library clerks and assistants (+12.3%). There was also a notable rise in adverts for sales and retail assistants (+11.9%) as the sector prepares for the Christmas period.

On the other hand, only four occupations saw small declines in job postings: hairdressers and barbers (-3.2%), plasterers (-1.0%) bricklayers and masons (-0.6%), and roofers, roof tilers and slaters (-0.1%).

John Gray, Vice President, UK Operations at Emsi Burning Glass, said:

“Growth in employer demand over in recent weeks has not only been extremely strong, it has also been comprehensive in terms of geographies and sectors. The fact that the number of online job postings grew in all but three local authorities in the last week, and across the majority of occupations, is testament to just how strongly demand for workers has picked up right across the country since the steep decline at the start of the year.

“However, although demand is strong, numerous stories in the media and from employer groups suggest that many employers are really struggling to hire at the moment. This will pose interesting questions for them as to how they attract the workforce they need, including looking at the wages they are offering and including a more compelling benefits package.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. 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 27 September and 10 October 2021. For more details, see the attached annexes which, in league table format, detail the top and bottom ten county/unitary authorities for growth in job postings and growth by occupation type.
2.  ‘Active’ job postings are those which were live online during the specified time period. ‘New’ job postings are those which were added to the active stock during the specified time period.

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About the REC

The REC is the voice of the recruitment industry, speaking up for great recruiters. We drive standards and empower recruitment businesses to build better futures for great candidates and themselves. We are champions of an industry which is fundamental to the strength of the UK economy.

Find out more about the Recruitment & Employment Confederation at www.rec.uk.com.

About Emsi

Emsi’s goal is to help local, regional and national economies function more effectively through helping people make better decisions relating to the world of work. To achieve this, we employ a team of expert economists, data scientists and software programmers to build a dataset that is highly granular, extremely robust, and easy to use. Emsi was founded in Idaho in 2000 and now serves clients in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Find out more at www.economicmodelling.co.uk.

ANNEXES

Top ten and bottom ten county/unitary authorities for growth in job postings:

Top ten and bottom ten occupations by growth in job postings:

Key indicator occupations