Rise In UK Job Vacancies Over Past Six Months, Says Search Engine Adzuna

23 May 2013

The number of job vacancies in the UK has risen in the past six months, but in some areas of the country there are more than 50 jobseekers for every advertised position, according to the search engine Adzuna.

The website said there were an average of 460,977 live vacancies in the UK listed online throughout April, up 0.7% on March's figure. Rates of pay have also risen, but more slowly, with the average advertised salary reaching £33,693, up by 0.3% month-on-month.

However, competition for jobs remains fierce in many areas. Across the UK, Adzuna said there were 3.4 jobseekers for each advertised vacancy, but this masked huge regional differences.

In three cities in the north of England there are more than 50 jobseekers for each vacancy, but in other areas of the country there more advertised vacancies than jobseekers.

Adzuna said the place it was most difficult to find a job was Salford, where there were more than 55 jobseekers for every job, closely followed by Wirral (55) and Hull (53). In contrast in Aberdeen, there were 0.38 job hunters for each advertised role, while the data for Cambridge, Guildford, Reading and Winchester also suggested a dearth of potential applicants for each position.

Flora Lowther, Adzuna's head of research, said at least 95% of UK vacancies are advertised on the site.

She added: "The number of advertised jobs has increased steadily from Q1 to Q2. While this is encouraging, long-term unemployment remains a major problem.

"Cities such as Hull and Chester remain in trouble with job stock dwindling and average wages falling."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/may/22/uk-job-vacancies-search-adzuna