New year begins with 20% increase in job ads

Britain’s job market continued to thrive in the first week of 2018, recent figures from totaljobs have revealed.

A record 54,000 jobs were advertised on totaljobs between the 1st and the 7th January 2018, around 9,000 (20%) more than in the same period last year.

David Clift, HR Director at totaljobs, said: “Despite political and economic uncertainty, the UK job market thrived in 2017 with unemployment reaching its lowest level in 42 years. Our data suggests that this momentum is set to continue into 2018, with 20% more jobs available now than a year ago.

“The good news for people looking to make their next career move is that there is a wide choice of vacancies available, right across the UK.”

The data show that Travel, Leisure & Tourism (+53%) and Customer Services (+42%) were among the fastest moving sectors, while 1,000 extra engineering roles were advertised on totaljobs. While despite Brexit uncertainty, the UK saw a 10% increase in the number of jobs advertised in Banking and Finance.

The overall picture was positive across the UK with all regions showing annual growth in terms of the number of available jobs in the first week of 2018. The North West and London were among the strongest, with 27% and 38% more roles advertised year-on-year, respectively.

Key industries in London were in line with the UK-wide trends, including growth in education (+112%) and travel and tourism (61%), while the outlook looks positive for the banking (24%) and legal (25%) professions. In the North West, jobs growth in telecommunications was as high as 64%, with an increase of 21% in banking and 12% in technology.

David added: “2018 will be an interesting year for employment, with a number of major changes set to rock pre-conceived notions on their head. Employees are now in a position to make bolder choices thanks to favourable employment levels and are making their voices heard.

“2018 will also be the year to rectify a number of long lasting issues, such as gender inequality and lagging productivity. This is definitely a year to watch and we’re positive it will another strong year for both employers and employees.”