According to the latest figures released by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the jobs market showed “signs of growth” in October.
According to the REC’s Labour Market Tracker, there were 706,480 job openings in October, an increase of 4.8% compared to the previous month.
In October, the number of active job listings was slightly down at 1,542.674. This was a slight decrease in the number of active job postings compared to September.
The REC stated that this was a continuation of a trend towards moderation, which began before the pandemic and reflected fewer new jobs advertised over the summer.
The highest-demanding roles were those of software and programmer development professionals. Also in high demand were lawyers, chartered accountants and solicitors.
In October, delivery drivers, post workers and mail sorters and authors, writers, and translators saw the most growth.
The biggest decline was among beauticians and painters, as well as probation officers.
According to location, the most job posts were posted in Dumfries and Galloway (11,5%), East Dunbartonshire (11%) and Wandsworth (13%)
Neil Carberry, chief executive of REC, said that the latest figures show “underlying resilience” on the job market.
He said: “These figures come from before Budget, a difficult one for business when it came to costs of employment.
“If firms are more confident in the direction of the economy, they will invest new products and create jobs.”
The challenge is now for the Bank of England and the chancellor to support businesses more positively with growth. It should begin with ensuring that new laws like the Employment Rights Bill encourage businesses to create all types of jobs.
Carberry said that hiring for Christmas could give the market a boost, though recent data from Indeed shows that seasonal hiring has been relatively slow.
He said: “Employers improved their model for Christmas hiring needs over the last few years. This has led to a more stable and lower “peak” at Christmas.
Many firms will look to hire staff during the last weeks of the year. With household finances improving, consumer confidence at its highest level in five years, and advertising expenditures expected to increase, this is a good time for many companies.
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