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Latest NewsJob creation and lossesLabour marketUK

Seasonal hiring drives growth in UK jobs market

by Kavitha Sivasubramaniam 25 Nov 2024
by Kavitha Sivasubramaniam 25 Nov 2024 Shutterstock / BearFotos
Shutterstock / BearFotos

Seasonal and graduate hiring has fuelled growth in the UK jobs market as Christmas approaches, a report has revealed.

Research by Adzuna showed around 23,000 new temporary roles are now being advertised in sectors such as catering, hospitality, retail and construction.

The jobs site’s UK Job Market Report found the number of vacancies had increased by 0.64% in the past six months, indicating a positive step forward from the challenging first half of 2024.

Graduate positions also experienced a boost, continuing the upward trend for the fifth consecutive month with vacancies rising by 0.1%, while salaries hit a record high of £25,101.

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Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “2024 had a challenging start, with January vacancies falling close to -7% monthly and -15% annually, making it the gloomiest January on record. However, the second half of the year has shown signs of recovery and resilience.”

The data further showed the largest annual salary increase since April 2021, which is up 6.2% and brings the average annual earnings to £39,234. This also represents an increase of 6.19% year-on-year.

Hunter added: “This October, we saw the first positive six-month change in vacancy numbers. Driven by preparations for the busy Christmas shopping season, sectors like trade, construction and retail are ramping up hiring. We are excited to see where this leads as we head into the new year.”

However, despite an uplift in seasonal and graduate hiring, there was a 0.17% drop in vacancies in October.

Additionally, the number of jobseekers per available role remained at its highest level, up from 1.49 people per position to 2.08 – the highest since June 2021, when it was 2.07.

The report found jobs were posted for around 39.5 days before being filled, compared to an average of 35.8 days in the two months before October and the longest timeframe experienced since September 2022.

The data also showed a slight improvement in wage transparency last month, with around 47.68% of positions listing salary details within the advertisement compared to 46.34% in September. According to Adzuna, although this represents fewer than half of advertised roles, it’s a step in the right direction.

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Kavitha Sivasubramaniam

Kavitha Sivasubramaniam is an experienced journalist, editor and communications professional who has been working in B2B publishing for more than 17 years. After graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in Multi Media Journalism, Kavitha started her career in local and regional newspapers, before moving to consumer magazines and later trade titles, as well as PR. Specialising in pay and reward, she has been editor of a number of HR publications including Pay & Benefits, Employee Benefits, Benefits Expert, Reward and CIPP’s membership magazine, Professional. In June 2024, she won Pay, Reward and Employee Benefits Journalist of the Year at the Willis Towers Watson media awards. She was also named one of Each Person’s top 20 influential HR bloggers and managed a highly commended content team of the year in 2019.

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