h2 Recruit is a specialist Sales Recruitment agency with offices in London and New York.

 

 

The New Year will see the tide turn for the UK jobs market with the rate of growth in new vacancies overtaking job applications for the first time in five years.

 

Jobseekers will have a wider choice of new jobs in 2014 than at any point in the last five years. The number of job opportunities available in the UK has increased across all sectors in the last 12 months, with construction and property the standout sector. Government initiatives to boost house building and infrastructure projects has prompted a 74% rise in new construction jobs.

 

Meanwhile, the motoring and manufacturing sectors have shown annual increases of 60% and 51% respectively, suggesting that the recovery will reach all parts of the economy in the coming year. What’s more, fears of a London-based recovery will be lessened as a number of regions, including Scotland and the East Midlands, have outperformed the capital in terms of growth in new job opportunities.

 

The Reed Job Index, which is compiled every month using data from over 160,000 vacancies advertised on reed.co.uk, now stands 28% higher than in December 2012. More than 1.6 million jobs were added to reed.co.uk in 2013. On a day-to-day basis, there were 40,000 more jobs than last year.

 

For the third consecutive month, each of the 33 industry sectors listed on the index is showing year-on-year growth in jobs and 11 out of 12 UK regions are showing growth compared to last year. However, growth in salaries remains sluggish at just 2% over the year.  

 

Overall, the Job Index now stands at 172, up from 138 at the beginning of the year.

 

Commenting on the latest figures, James Reed, chairman of reed.co.uk, says:

 

“2013 has been a positive year for the jobs market, with continued growth and new jobs reaching a five year high in the autumn.

 

“Most significantly, the latest data shows a shift towards a candidate-led market. This is good news for jobseekers and will present a growing challenge to employers as they compete to attract the best talent.

 

“What’s more, after such a long period of salary stagnation, candidates will have a stronger negotiating position when it comes to pay, so employers will need to be prepared for a growing wage bill in 2014.

 

“The signs indicate a strong 2014. Growth is likely to come from the industries that have shown the biggest increases in the last few months: construction and property; retail; manufacturing; automotive.”

 

The Reed Job Index is compiled by reed.co.uk, through analysis of job vacancies from over 10,000 recruiters throughout the UK tracked against a baseline of 100 established in December 2009. It is the largest monthly measure of conditions and trends in employment in the UK. Reed.co.uk is the UK’s largest jobs board, receiving a total of over 120 million visits in the last 12 months and 24 million job applications.

Posted by Onrec - News archive on 2nd Jan 2014