Jobs rise by nine percent in the past year, while competition remains high

• Housing market surge boosts construction jobs by 43 per cent
• Graduate and trainee roles up 13 per cent in last 12 months
• City jobs in banking, insurance and finance down 10 per cent

The UK labour market continues to improve with the number of jobs increasing by nine per cent year-on-year (YOY), according to statistics from the Q2 2014 totaljobs.com Barometer, which analyses the behaviour of 5.9 million British jobseekers and 5,000 recruiters.  Competition also rose, with the number of applications for each job rising by three per cent year-on-year.

The East Midlands saw the biggest increase, with a 17 per cent rise in the number of job postings, followed closely by Yorkshire at 16 per cent. Other big winners included jobseekers in Wales, the North West, the North East, and East Anglia, which saw job opportunities jump 12 per cent YOY.

The totaljobs.com Barometer provides one of the most comprehensive representations of supply and demand in the UK job market – importantly reporting three months ahead of official ONS statistics. Today’s figures show how UK recruitment has fared in the second quarter of 2014, and outlines job trends across 33 sectors and each UK region.

Housing boom drives job surge

While the booming housing market has given home owners a reason to celebrate as national property prices surged 11.8 per cent, house building has driven a staggering 43 per cent rise in construction jobs. This good news comes hot on the heels of last week’s Market/CIPS survey, which found construction hiring to be at its fastest rate since 1997.

Applications per construction job have dropped by 37 per cent in the last year, showing the demand for construction workers and highlighting concerns over the UK’s ability to keep up with building demands.

Jobseekers in the property sector also benefited from the hot property market, with jobs rising 10 per cent YOY.

City jobs continue to fall, as the banking, insurance and finance sectors saw a 10 per cent decline in jobs nationally year on year, which is squeezing competitions for jobseekers, with applications per job up by 10 per cent.

John Salt, director, totaljobs.com says: “Although not all sectors have enjoyed a rise in jobs, today’s figures show that the overall national labour market is very positive, which I am sure will be very welcome news for the Government as the UK continues its road to recovery ahead of next year’s General Election.

“Encouragingly, given the higher level of youth unemployment, the number of graduate and trainee jobs have increased by 13 per cent YOY, and six per cent since last quarter. This will be a relief for many young people who are still struggling to find work and follows last week’s announcement of the EU Youth Guarantee to secure under 25s a job offer within four months.

Customer service roles increased by 19 per cent over the last 12 months, with applications per job rising by five per cent. Secretarial, PA and administration jobs also enjoyed a significant rise of 18 per cent, as applications per job up by four per cent YOY. 

Meanwhile, transport and logistics jumped 27 per cent YOY, with competition for the increased number of jobs also fierce, as applications per job rose 21 per cent.

“The totaljobs.com Barometer also shows that competition for jobs remains high; it’s important to remember that the labour market has only been in recovery over the past twelve months and real wages remain low. More must be done to provide support to jobseekers who have been long term unemployed, by ensuring they have the skills they need to re-enter the workforce.”

Totaljobs.com Barometer, Q2 2014, key growth sectors

More analysis and commentary can be found on the totaljobs.com blog.