Tracker records increase in job adverts for every type of role across UK

The number of job adverts in the UK has been steadily growing since the beginning of 2022, as the Omicron wave receded and hiring activity ramped up.

According to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)’s new Labour Market Tracker, produced in partnership with Emsi Burning Glass, there were 224,000 new adverts posted in the week of February 21-27 – the highest weekly figure since early December.

As a result, the total number of active job postings has continued to rise through January and February, following the normal seasonal drop in late December.

Last week there were roughly 1.82 million job adverts live in the UK, 8.6 per cent higher than in the previous week.

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: “Firms are hiring to meet demand as the economy recovers, and that is great news for people looking to move on in their careers.

“With increases in every type of job and almost every local area, that opportunity is widespread too.

“Recruiters across the UK are ready to help people find new roles.

“Employers’ confidence levels have been boosted as COVID restrictions start lifting, with activity returning to city centres and industries like entertainment and hospitality much closer to normal.

“But the high level of job adverts also reflects the difficulty firms are having in hiring.

“The UK economy is facing some severe capacity constraints as it recovers, which is contributing to higher inflation.

“To manage this, workforce planning needs to be front and centre for firms.

“This will also help to boost productivity, a long-time UK weakness.

“For governments across the UK, it means working together with industry to ensure skills systems are able to fulfil our needs in the coming years, including reforming the apprenticeship levy.

“Now is also the wrong time to be increasing National Insurance, our biggest business tax – government should be encouraging business investment and supporting household incomes rather than piling more costs on taxpayers at a time when inflation is already high.”

The number of active job adverts grew in every occupation in the UK in late February. The most significant rise was for fitness instructors (+23.6 per cent).

But there were also significant rises for furniture makers and craft woodworkers (+20.9 per cent), as well as tailors and dressmakers (+15.5 per cent) – perhaps as the leisure and entertainment industry begins to kick back into gear.

The gradual return to offices and other workplaces could also be increasing demand for some roles.

Childminders saw an increase in demand of 16.8 per cent from the previous week, while adverts for mobile salespeople with rounds, including those selling food and drink to office workers, increased by 23 per cent week-on-week.

John Gray, vice president, UK Operations at Emsi Burning Glass, said:

“The data continues to show a remarkably tight labour market, with strong employer hiring activity across the country, suggesting that the number of vacancies continues to be very high. Whilst this suggests strong business confidence, we know that many employers are still finding it hard to get the talent they need, which means they will need to look for new and innovative ways of promoting what they offer to potential workers, if they are to attract the people they need to grow their business.

“That being said, with renewed global uncertainty and the huge rise in energy costs we are currently experiencing, the business confidence we have seen over the past few months could well be dented in the coming weeks and months.”