‘Rise in job vacancies as economy gets going’

JOB vacancies have continued to increase as the economy reopens from the lockdown imposed as a result of the coronavirus crisis, according to a report.

Around 140,000 new jobs were advertised in the week to April 11, giving a total of 1.37 million, said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

This was on top of 181,000 in the previous week, which was the highest weekly figure since the pandemic began, said the recruiters.

The three best weeks for new job adverts have come since the beginning of March.

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: “The busy barbers and pub gardens this week are a sign that large sections of our economy are getting going again, and this growing confidence is reflected in hiring activity.

“An increase in demand for hospitality roles as restaurants and pubs prepared to partially reopen their premises this week is particularly welcome news.

the vaccine rollout on schedule, businesses are increasingly confident this positive trend will continue. That will unlock investment, and with it new jobs.

“However, not every sector or region of the country will recover at the same rate, and many people will need help finding a job or transitioning into a new industry. “

Mr Carberry said data from Northern Ireland was “particularly concerning”, adding that businesses will be looking to politicians from all sides to deliver clarity and stability to postBrexit arrangements, so that they can invest.

He added: “Across the UK, governments and businesses now need to work together to help people find new roles in this developing recovery.

“The challenge is increasingly about getting people to jobs, not the supply of jobs overall. That means making sure the skills system works.”