Nearly a third fewer candidates are looking for seasonal jobs compared with the equivalent periods in 2019 and 2018, with potentially significant effects for consumers at Christmas.
Analysis by jobs listing giant Indeed found that as of 1 October 2021, the share of searches being made for seasonal roles by jobseekers was down 27% compared with 2019 and 33% below its 2018 level.
The figures chime with the overall trends revealed by the Office for National Statistics earlier this week. According to the ONS’s latest labour force survey the number of job vacancies in July to September 2021 was a record high of 1,102,000, an increase of 318,000 from its pre-pandemic (January to March 2020) level. This was the second consecutive month that the three-month average has risen over one million.
Indeed found that candidate interest in Christmas jobs was up 11% on the numbers seen in October 2020, but last year’s figure was kept exceptionally low by a second wave of the pandemic that forced the closure of much of the economy.
This year’s surge in seasonal vacancies, which typically peaks in October and November, has come later than usual too.
Face-to-face workers such as sales assistants and food servers account for 45% of the seasonal vacancies, said Indeed, whereas last year warehouse staff and drivers made up a higher proportion of vacancies.
The figures indicate that retailers and hospitality firms are facing a double whammy of logistics and delivery problems coupled with a lack of seasonal staff.
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Jack Kennedy, UK Economist at global job site Indeed, said: “With retailers and logistics firms already warning that supply shortages could lead to empty shelves this Christmas, our analysis reveals just what employers who rely on seasonal staff are up against.
He suggested that because jobseekers have so many options at the moment, seasonal work was less attractive to many. “Jobseekers are currently spoilt for choice, and our real-time data shows they are less interested than usual in seasonal Christmas jobs.” he said. “With candidate searches for Christmas jobs still down roughly a third on where they were at this point in 2018 and 2019, the supply of people is simply not keeping up with employer demand.
Kennedy said there was still time for the supply of seasonal workers to pick up but “as we approach the peak Christmas hiring season, the squeeze is particularly painful in the parts of the retail sector that depend on Christmas for the bulk of their sales. For them the risk of empty staff rooms is just as severe as the risk of empty shelves.”
Among firms looking to employ large numbers of staff rapidly is Domino’s which has announced 8,000 new driver roles in time for Christmas on the back of strong third quarter trading results.
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