JOB ADVERT NUMBERS RISE BY OVER 600,000 SINCE THE END OF AUGUST TO NEW RECORD HIGH

Posted on 17th October 2021

There were 2.29 million active job adverts posted in the week of 4-10 October, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)'s latest Jobs Recovery Tracker. Growth in job adverts shows no signs of slowing down. The total number of active job postings in the UK has increased by over 600,000 (36%) since the last week of August, including 235,000 new adverts that were posted online last week.

This growth has been spread across the whole country, with almost every upper tier local authority and occupation in the UK seeing a rise in active job postings last week. This will make competition for staff even more fierce in the coming weeks, with many sectors ramping up their activity as we head towards the Christmas period.

Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said "The past month has seen a remarkable spike in job adverts, with 235,000 new ads posted last week. Businesses from almost every sector and local area are hiring right now, and with so much competition for staff, many businesses are having to offer increased salaries and benefits to attract the people they need.

"It's a good time to be looking for work right now - but this bounce-back phase will pass. As the sugar rush fades, future opportunities will be defined by the strength of our underlying economy - notably the extent to which there are capacity constraints on growth, and what progress firms can make on productivity. To truly level up, it's time for government to work with businesses on skills, including at lower skills levels, capital investment and workforce planning to make sure we have a soft landing after this boom. And all of this needs to be as relevant for temporary workers - the flexible backbone of our economy - as for those staff in permanent roles."

For more information visit www.rec.uk.com.