The number of active job adverts across the UK has remained stable since mid-August as vacancy levels remain high, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and Lightcast’s latest Labour Market Tracker.
Active job postings have remained stable with between 1.39 to 1.5 million active job adverts since mid-August, found the tracker, with notable increases in job adverts in the energy and retail sectors.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said that although the data fluctuated from week to week, job advert numbers had averaged about the same level through the year, suggesting a pattern of strong and stable demand.
He said: “Despite a wider narrative of concern about the economy, this reflects feedback from recruiters across the country who are saying that shortages mean demand is remaining high even as growth diminishes. It is worth noting that some of the strength in today’s figures is seasonal, however, with demand up in retail ahead of Christmas, and energy ahead of the winter.”
Carberry described last month’s Autumn Statement as a missed opportunity to help tackle skills shortages by reforming the apprenticeship levy.
“Making funding more flexible so businesses can use it for high quality shorter training courses and non-apprenticeship schemes would be a win-win for industry, workers and government,” he added.
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There was also increasing pressure from businesses to allow more immigration to allow them to fill roles and address the UK’s labour shortage, Carberry said.
Occupations with notable increases in job advert numbers include energy plant operatives (+38.1%), shopkeepers and proprietors (wholesale and retail), which rose by 18.8%, and cleaners and domestics (+14.3%).
Postal workers (-5.3%) were among occupations that saw a significant decline in active postings.
The north-east of England saw a marked growth in job postings in the week of 14-20 November, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees seeing a rise of 16.2%, Darlington (+14.5%), and South Teesside (+14.3%).
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However, four of the bottom 10 local areas for growth in active job postings were in Scotland. Of those, East Dunbartonshire (-7.2%), Argyll and Bute (-2.6%), and Highland (-0.7%) saw the biggest falls.
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