UK Job Market Shows Signs Of Improvement

01 Mar 2013

The six months to February saw small increase in vacancies, though average salary plummeted, research reveals

The UK job market showed signs of improvement in the six months to February, with a small increase in vacancies, but the average salary plummeted during that time, research reveals.

The number of job vacancies currently available in the UK totals 491,299, according to a report by job search engine Adzuna – 4% more than in August 2012. The report indicates that a fifth of those roles (22.1%) are part-time jobs.

However, over the same period the average advertised wage dropped by 4.4%, to an average of £33,166 a year.

The fall in advertised earnings contrasts with the most recent estimate from the Office for National Statistics, which indicated that annual growth in weekly wages has remained below inflation since 2009 and pay, excluding bonuses, grew at an annual rate of 1.3% in the three months to November 2012.

Advertised wages in the IT sector increased at the fastest rate (8%) in the last six months to £43,492, according to Adzuna, followed by call centre managers (6% to £30,026) and construction jobs (6% to £35,111), but NHS doctor roles decreased in wage by 8% to £41,328.

Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter said the rate at which salaries are declining across the country should be a concern.

"It's been a fairly positive start to the year, with solid vacancy figures showing the labour market is relatively robust, despite the looming threat of a triple-dip recession," he added. "[But] many parts of the UK, such as East Midlands and Yorkshire remain in crisis, with job stock numbers dwindling and average wages decreasing."

Almost 30 million people were in work at the end of 2012, an increase of 154,000 on the quarter to September and the highest total since records began, in 1971, recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show. But youth unemployment increased by 11,000, the highest rise for a year, to 974,000, and the number of people with more than one job increased by 41,000, to 1.1 million.

Adzuna's data showed the sector with the most vacancies in February was IT, with 64,357 roles up for grabs (21% part-time), followed by healthcare and nursing, engineering, and accounting and finance.

The statistics show that there were 3.22 jobseekers for each vacancy across the UK but in Hull that rises to 50.95 jobseekers per vacancy and 45.56 candidates per job in the Wirral.

By contrast, in Aberdeen there are currently just 0.35 candidates per vacancy, rising to 0.65 applicants in Cambridge. Competition for jobs in London eased month on month, to 2.08 jobseekers per vacancy in the capital.

A separate survey of senior HR professionals by law firm Speechly Bircham and King's College London has found that, for the first time since the survey started in 2008, organisations expect to recruit more staff. Of the more than 300 organisations surveyed, 46% reported an increase in recruitment in 2012 and 45% expect an increase in workforce size in 2013.

But the survey indicates that employees expect to work longer hours and experience increased stress levels. Those surveyed also indicated that pay increases were scarce and they were expected to do more for less.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/feb/28/uk-job-market-shows-improvement