Since then, the way we work has irrevocably changed, as has the way we recruit. WaveTrackR’s Annual Report for 2021 reveals the true impact Covid-19 has had on the economy, the job market and the recruitment industry and offers insights into what might lie ahead.
Never could any of us have predicted a year like 2020. The restrictions necessitated by Covid-19 have had disastrous effects on the economy and the job market. Entire industries were forced to close several times as the government responded to fluctuations in cases, negotiating a balancing act between saving lives and livelihoods. It has been a year that has seen record redundancies, rising unemployment and catastrophic impacts on a
number of industries (as well as booms in those industries in demand as a result of the pandemic). Brexit, too, has impacted the economy, from uncertainty causing a delay in hiring, to the hit to the economy that is likely to grow more apparent in 2021. The twin disruptions of Covid-19 and Brexit have been a perfect storm, only one of which was forecast.
As we forge ahead into 2021, the storm seems to be abating - the government has outlined the roadmap to easing lockdown, the vaccination rollout is continuing at pace and the Budget has revealed that support for individuals and industries hit the hardest will not be pulled and will, in some areas, be increased. Indeed, because of all this the OECD has recently revised its figures for UK growth, increasing it to 5.1% for 2021. Now seems to be the right time to look back at the year the world was turned upside down and assess the impact it has had on the job market as a whole, on recruitment, and on specific industries. For this is unlike any other financial crisis we have ever seen. Covid-19 has been unique not only in the way that it immediately shut down the economy but also in the way it has affected industries in vastly different ways. Some have been decimated, others have boomed.
To get a broader view as well as industry specific intel, the WaveTrackR team has compiled a bumper edition of their annual report, uncovering recruitment industry insights from a year like no other. Forged from data taken from its in-built, real-time analytics, the report reveals industry trends and factors influencing jobs posted and applications received. Some trends are heavily pandemic influenced and may be short lived, others represent permanent changes in behaviour and technology, and others still remain unchanged year after year.
Key trends
- The greatest amount of job activity took place at the end of the year.
- Education experienced the largest growth in jobs.
- Retail, Wholesale experienced the greatest negative growth in jobs.
- Most jobs are posted on a Friday but the majority of applications are received on Tuesdays.
- Property and IT & Internet posted the highest percentage of jobs and received the highest numbers of applications across all industries, indicating a 2020 boom for each.
