Latest figures released today suggest that the jobs market in England is being buoyed up by the resurgence in the service sector. Figures from the Jobs Index from MyJobGroup.co.uk, which operates the UK’s largest network of regional job sites, found that the ‘bellwether’ sectors of retail and leisure had grown by 8 and 31 per cent respectively since last month, in spite of a wholesale drop of 6 per cent in jobs advertised.
In further evidence that the UK has started to exit the worst recession in a generation, other sectors in the services industry also posted healthy gains; catering and hospitality jobs increased by 15 per cent, with customer service posts also growing at the same rate.
Jobs in sales and marketing also grew by 4 per cent, coupled with a healthy 5 per cent increase for posts in the insurance industry, showing that tertiary sectors, which are primarily driven by consumer spend, were leading the way as the UK’s jobs market stabilised following a period of unprecedented decline.
The MyJobGroup.co.uk Jobs Index collates jobs data from five largest online recruitment companies, including MyJobGroup.co.uk - the most comprehensive network of regional job sites across the UK - which is then analysed across 39 key sectors and 127 geographic areas.
In spite of the resurgence of the services sector, there was less positive news for other industries, as the ailing automotive industry suffered a drop of more than one third (37%) in jobs posted.
Key public services, healthcare and education, suffered sharp decline as well, with 18 and 24 per cent decreases in the number of vacancies advertised and there was less encouraging news for the beleaguered manufacturing sector, though, as jobs advertised declined by 9 per cent.
In further evidence that many employers were waiting for the outcome of the general election before they commit to offering graduate posts, the Jobs Index showed a 7 per cent decline in posts tailored for university leavers.
Lee Fayer, Managing Director of MyJobGroup.co.uk, said: “Whilst there has been a slight decline in jobs posted since last month, we are very pleased to see such a strong performance from industries in the service sector; catering, hospitality, leisure and retail have all performed well above the market average, along with many others.
“Given that these particular industries are driven primarily by consumer spend, this augurs very well for the general economic recovery, as it shows people are starting to spend again after a period of belt-tightening and this should pave the way for wholesale improvement across all sectors in the jobs market.
“Whilst there is perhaps less positive news for manufacturing and the automotive industry, the overall results are very positive indeed and show that the recovery is under way and gathering pace.”
For more information visit www.myjobgroup.co.uk
