The UK labour market has reached a turning point with the arrival of 2010, and "a sense of cautious optimism is now building, [..'] reflected in an upturn in job supplies across many sectors", according to Totajobs director John Salt, commenting on latest data from the Totaljobs Barometer (external website), published today. But this increasingly optimistic outlook is tempered by the harsh reality facing job seekers in the current climate. As Salt puts it:
[A] backlog of job seekers means that securing the next step on the career ladder has never been more competitive.
The latest Totaljobs Barometer data, which measures changes in supply and demand in the UK jobs market between January and November 2009, reveals the following:
- The UK recruitment market has begun to stabilise, following the record slump it suffered in first half of 2009. This is reflected in the fact that the number of jobs advertised has shown its first quarterly increase in 21 months, rising by 3% over the three months to 30 November 2009.
- The number of applications per job advertised has doubled over the course of 2009, rising from 4.8 applications per job in January 2009 to 9.7 per job by November 2009.
- Regional analysis of the Totaljobs Barometer data reveals significant variations. Scotland is the only UK region to show an increase in job advertisements posted over the three months to the end of November 2009, rising by 36%. Across all other UK regions, the numbers of jobs posted fell significantly, with recorded falls ranging from 4% (in both the East Midlands and East Anglia) to 30% (in Yorkshire).
Tomorrow, I'll take a look at the argument that latest unemployment data - while recording ongoing rises in unemployment - can be seen as decidedly positive.
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