2024 continues to be a turbulent year for UK job hunters with advertised vacancies falling again to 862,294, down -0.46 per cent monthly in March 2024 and -17.41 per cent annually, according to the latest UK Job Market Report by job search engine Adzuna. This fifth consecutive monthly decline comes as the number of people out of work recently rose to 4.2 per cent, the highest recorded in six months. As a result, there are now 1.87 jobseekers per vacancy, up from 1.49 last year and the highest figures since August 2021.
Jobs across PR, Advertising & Marketing were hit hardest, dropping by -11.09 per cent in the past month, as companies are scaling back marketing spend. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of a prolonged housebuilding slump, Trade & Construction vacancies fell by -8.24 per cent. This has left overall job figures down -17.41 per cent compared to the same time last year. That said, significant increases in several fast-growing sectors are helping to lessen the blow and mask these declines somewhat. Travel roles, for example, were up +16.27 per cent in March, while Manufacturing vacancies rose by +6.09 per cent, following news that companies such as Aston Martin are creating new manufacturing roles across the country – both lifting the month-on-month average.
At the same time, the average advertised salaries continue to rise, up +0.41 per cent in March to £38,638, and up +2.95 per cent annually. This is to be expected with wages often lagging behind labour market slack. However, there are early signs that wage growth is easing, as March’s annual growth isn’t as rapid as in February 2024 (+3.01 per cent). This is good news for borrowers who are anticipating the Bank of England to cut interest rates later this year.
On the back of the modest increase in advertised salaries, transparency has equalised too. In March, 50 per cent of job ads included salary details, while 50 per cent did not.
Over a third of sectors tracked by Adzuna saw an increase in vacancies in March 2024, compared to February 2024. In addition to the rises seen in Travel (+16.27 per cent) and Manufacturing (+6.09 per cent), Maintenance roles and Customer Services positions rose by +4.65 per cent and +3.01 per cent respectively. Conversely, joining the PR, Advertising & Marketing (-11.09 per cent), Graduate positions experienced a decline (-8.5 per cent), followed by Trade & Construction (-8.24 per cent), and Energy, Oil & Gas positions (-6.45 per cent).
Year-on-year, Travel (+14.77 per cent) and Teaching (+0.83 per cent) were the only two sectors to see vacancies increase annually in March. Meanwhile the steepest annual declines were across Domestic Help & Cleaning (-46.13 per cent) and Trade & Construction (-43.9 per cent).
Given the overall rise in advertised salaries, most sectors also experienced monthly salary increases. Energy, Oil & Gas saw the largest monthly increase, +3.87 per cent, as well as the largest annual increase, up +20.4 per cent. Retail (+2.5 per cent) and Social Work (+1.83 per cent) also experienced monthly growth.
The biggest fall in monthly salary was in Travel, (-3.74 per cent) – likely due to an increase in the range of roles at different levels. Legal (-0.51 per cent), Property (-0.38 per cent), Charity and Voluntary (-0.35 per cent), and Trade & Construction (-0.11 per cent) also saw monthly falls in salaries. On a more positive note, year over year, almost all sectors experienced a rise in advertised salaries, with Energy, Oil & Gas (+20.4 per cent), Social work (+12.33 per cent), and Manufacturing (+9.3 per cent) leading the way. IT was the only sector to experience an annual fall in advertised salaries (-6.16 per cent).
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “This new data continues to paint a difficult picture for job hunters in 2024. Vacancies have fallen again in March, unemployment is up and competition for open roles is intensifying across most sectors. The outlook remains poor too – Adzuna’s data, collected month-to-date in April, suggests no clear signs of a hiring recovery just yet. The rise in salaries is expected, with wages often lagging behind labour market slack so these figures will likely embolden the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee to begin cutting interest rates this summer.”
Tony Wilson, Director at the Institute for Employment Studies, added: “On the face of it, lower vacancies and higher unemployment points to a bit more ‘slack’ in the labour market than we have been used to in the last few years. However, it’s worth noting that underneath the headlines, unemployment is being pushed up by more people who have been out of work for a year or longer, many of whom will need more and better support to get back into work. And while vacancies are continuing to drift down, there’s still well over 800,000 unfilled jobs in the economy – which is holding back economic growth and living standards. So it remains the case that we need to do a lot more to boost labour supply, by reaching and helping people out of work who want a job, and not just rely on higher interest rates to dampen demand.”
