With ONS employment figures publishing today, David Rudick, VP International Markets Indeed UK has taken a look at the regional differences in job listings and job availability – based on data from Indeed.co.uk.
“The statistics released yesterday from think tank Resolution Foundation showed high regional variation for the closing “jobs gap” across the UK. Data from Indeed.co.uk largely supports the findings, showing that whilst many parts of the country are now headed in the right direction, others are lagging behind. Cities in the south-east of England such as Oxford, Reading and Southampton in particular show a very high number of job postings per capita, demonstrating the biggest “jobs gap”. In Oxford for example there are currently 97 job postings per 1000 people, compared with only six job postings per 1000 people in the north-eastern city of Sunderland. In Belfast, where the jobs gap is perceived to be at its worst, Indeed.co.uk shows around four unemployed job seekers for each job opening.
It’s interesting too that part-time workers were shown to have risen from 689,000 (9.4 per cent) to 1.3m (16.5 per cent) since 2008. This trend of job seekers looking for more part-time work is definitely on the rise. A report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG released earlier this year highlighted that availability for new permanent positions is falling at the fastest rate in 10 years. It’s clear that job seekers are increasingly looking to find roles with the flexibility to fit with their daily lives. Whilst the ONS stats released today certainly mark an exciting milestone for the UK with unemployment reaching all-time lows, it’s important that employers stay aware of a reverse trend – the struggle to find the right people for the job.”
