According to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)’s Jobs Recovery Tracker, there were 1.63 million active job adverts in the UK for the first week of June. The amount of job adverts has increased back to similar levels in pre-covid times in March 2020. The Jobs Recovery Tracker launched in May 2020 with the aim of helping recruiters, businesses and policymakers see how the job market is evolving as the economy recovers from the impact of the global pandemic.
Integra People, a recruitment consultancy based in Birchwood, Warrington saw a rise in temporary roles and job adverts since the start of the pandemic. Particularly a rise in demand for cleaners, tutors, school teaching assistants and labourers. “We’re happy to see the job market steadying back to levels of early last year, there’s still a long way to go to recover from the pandemic but the statistics and research from the REC, who we are a proud member of, are very promising” says David Lewis, Managing Director of Integra People.
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said:
“Data for the past month shows hiring in the UK recovering to normal levels, though there remain some differences between sectors and local areas. As pandemic restrictions have lifted, we have seen an explosion in job vacancies as companies rush to hire ahead of re-opening. Data from last week shows there has been a slight drop-off, perhaps driven by the Bank Holiday and school half-terms, but make no mistake – the jobs market is still more active than we have seen in 18 months.
“Employers do have some concerns about the rise in COVID cases, and we’ll have to wait to see whether that delays the final stage of re-opening. But by far their biggest worry right now is the shortage of candidates for jobs. The pandemic has made existing skill and labour shortages in the UK worse. Governments and business need to work together to ensure access to training opportunities and unemployment support so that there are pathways for everyone into growing sectors.”
- 208,000 new job adverts posted in the last week of May, the third highest weekly total since the pandemic began
- Another 156,000 new job adverts in the first week of June, which included a Bank Holiday weekend and half-term holidays for schools
- Continued hospitality roles, and increase in adverts for other skilled occupations like teachers and welders
In the education sector, teaching and educational professionals showed the highest weekly increase in active job postings in the first week of June. With the increased demand as teachers moving schools for September, this is likely a reflection of occupations in this sector of seasonal demand. There has also been an increase in the construction sector in particular in skilled roles such as welders, metal working machine operatives and other skilled trades. With the re-opening of the hospitality sector with lockdown rules easing, demand for bar staff and the hospitality sector continue to rise too.
At Integra People, throughout the pandemic, the recruitment agency saw a rise in demand for facilities management related roles such as cleaners in office, school and retail environments. This is expected to continue while Coronavirus continues to affect businesses as demand for hygiene and cleanliness remains.
Sources:
REC: https://www.rec.uk.com/our-view/research/recruitment-insights/jobs-recovery-tracker
