Job adverts have nearly doubled over the last year, research has found, which experts are saying could be the result of “pandemic bounceback” as well as structural changes to the economy.
Figures from Reed.co.uk have revealed that 3.3 million new jobs were uploaded to its website in 2021 – 1.5 million more than in 2020, equating to an increase of 97 per cent. This was also 25 per cent more than in 2019.
The survey also found that September was the most active month for job postings, with 357,000 jobs added to the site that month – an increase of 150 per cent compared to September 2020, and 60 per cent compared to 2019.
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December was another active month, with nearly 350,000 jobs posted to the site: an increase of 151 per cent on the same time in 2020, and 132 per cent on 2019. January was the least active month in terms of job postings, with a decrease of 17 per cent compared to the previous year.
Jon Boys, labour market economist at the CIPD, said that the figures could be attributed to a long-term change in the economy, as well as a return to pre-pandemic levels of recruitment.
"Sectors like hospitality and retail might be experiencing a pandemic bounceback, but the increased vacancies in transport and logistics could be the result of structural changes in our economy, such as the move to online shopping.”
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He called on the government to support employers in skills investment, adding that employers needed to review their recruitment and retention practices “beyond just raising wages”.
The research revealed that the customer service sector saw the largest rise in job postings, up by 339,000 (510 per cent) compared to 2020.
This was followed by the transport and logistics sector (up 337 per cent compared to 2020), the banking sector (up 305 per cent), the strategy and consulting sector (up 255 per cent) and the hospitality and catering sectors (up 176 per cent).
Meanwhile, the Scientific and Health and Medicine sectors saw the lowest increase in job postings, at 25 and 29 per cent respectively.
According to the survey, all regions in the UK saw high growth, with South East England and London seeing half a million job postings in 2021. London saw a rise of 108 per cent on 2020, while the south-east saw an increase of 77 per cent.
James Reed, chairman of Reed.co.uk, said that now was “the best time in 50 years to look for a new job”, noting that May last year saw the highest recorded number of new jobs postings of any month since the 2008 financial crisis.
“By July, the number of jobs posted on our website surpassed the total for the entirety of 2020. And in November we had over 300,000 jobs available throughout the entire month for the first time in our history,” said Reed.
“In this newly established sellers’ market, jobseekers hold all the cards and should feel empowered to find new opportunities, whether to explore different industries, improve work-life balance, increase wages or boost career prospects,” he said.