Vacancies see healthy rise as lockdown ends

Job vacancies in the UK bounced back at the end of November as a geographically tiered system of Covid-19 restrictions was introduced.

David Sapsted

8 December 2020

A report from Broadbean Technology, the world’s largest network of job boards, found that vacancies increased by 11 per cent in the last week of the month after a slowdown in the middle of November when a national lockdown was still in force.Broadbean’s data revealed that even in hospitality and sales - two of the sectors hardest hit by the consequences of the pandemic - recruitment levels rose by seven per cent and nine per cent respectively in the week ending November 29 as firms geared up for re-opening.The report said that, as has happened since the pandemic struck in the spring, demand for IT professionals continued to grow, with vacancies increasing by 27 per cent week-on-week.Broadbean said that with so many companies now operating remotely, either on a full-time basis or as part of a hybrid model, it was unsurprising that the recruitment of tech staff continued for grow. It was a trend that is expected to continue, said the report.Broadbean found that, in London, vacancies tailed off as employers feared the capital would be put in Tier 3 - the strictest level of restrictions. But when the government announced the city would only be in Tier 2, enabling locked down sectors to reopen, recruitment underwent an immediate boost, rising 16 per cent week-on-week.Alex Fourlis, managing director of Broadbean Technology, said: “To see such a healthy rise in vacancies following the news that lockdown was ending and a tiered system would replace it, is really positive news for the UK’s employment arena." While it was perhaps obvious that hiring levels would be impacted to some degree during the second national lockdown, to see recruitment levels bounce back so quickly has quelled many fears that there would be a long-lasting impact on hiring into December and beyond.“And while it is still early days – and of course we are, and will continue to be under restrictions for some time yet – early indications suggest that business confidence is returning. As we approach the end of the year it remains to be seen how the recruitment landscape will adapt over the coming weeks and months until a wide-scale vaccine programme is rolled out. However, we are quietly confident that the darkest days of 2020 are behind us.”