REC: Labour market ‘will remain tight for years to come’

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The past five weeks have seen the highest number of job adverts posted in nearly nine months, as employers scrambled to fill vacancies amid growing worker shortages. Last week (23-29 August) there were 1.66 million “active” job adverts in the UK, including 193,000 new jobs that were posted, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). It said the number of jobs posted in the past five weeks had reached its highest since mid-December 2020. Among the roles seeing a significant increase in demand included dispensing opticians (a 26.4% increase in new job adverts), driving instructors (12.9%), vehicle body builders and repairers (12.9%) and vehicle valeters and cleaners (9.2%). Scotland saw a hiring boom, with six out of the top 10 hiring hotspots identified by REC located in the country. In Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Outer Hebrides) the number of positions on offer leapt by 134.8%. However, demand for workers in some sectors is falling, the REC’s Jobs Recovery Tracker also showed. Last week there was a 10.1% drop in job adverts for ambulance staff excluding paramedics; a 9.7% drop in adverts for conference and exhibition organisers; and a 7.9% fall in demand for standards and regulations inspectors. Neil Carberry, REC chief executive, said the coming months could be difficult for employers, even with staff coming off of furlough. He said some of rise in job availability could be a short-term trend as workers re-evaluated their careers as the economy reopened. “Large