Parts of Yorkshire have largest increase of job postings in the country
In Yorkshire and the Humber, there was a 12.2% increase in active job postings in February 2024 - when compared to January 2024
Last updated 17th Mar 2024
Recruiters say parts of Yorkshire have seen the largest increase in job postings of anywhere in the country.
Postings for window cleaners, gardeners, authors and driving instructors have shown the biggest increase in recent weeks, whilst there has also been a growing demand for translators, fashion designers and data entry administrators.
The biggest fall in vacancies included those for delivery drivers and couriers, optometrists and prison officers, said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
Its study of tens of thousands of job adverts showed some of the biggest increases were in Lincolnshire, parts of Yorkshire and London.
They found:
- Across the country, the number of active postings in February 2024 was 1,873,386, substantially lower than a year ago (2.5m) but still well ahead of the equivalent figure for February 2020 (1.57m)
- There were 810,651 new job postings in February 2024 – a 5.5% fall from the month before
- Four of the to 10 regions with the highest number of job postings were in Yorkshire and the Hubmber
- In Yorkshire and the Humber alone, there was a 12.2% increase in active job postings in February 2024 - when compared to January 2024
- Across the UK, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham (+28.2%), York (+23.8%) and Belfast (22.8%) had the highest growth in job postings when compared to January 2024
There were more than 810,000 new postings last month, taking the total to 1.8 million, which REC said was weaker than the trend over the past three years.
Its research suggested continued shortages of workers, especially for skilled employees in engineering.
REC chief executive Neil Carberry said: "It's clear that the jobs market has slowed with the economy over the past year, and today's figures reflect that.
"But the level of hiring activity is more resilient than would be expected at a time like this, driven by the UK's tight labour supply, and forward-looking indicators of rising business confidence.
"For companies, this is a timely reminder that hiring is likely to remain challenging, especially as growth picks up.
"Governments really need to focus on a workforce strategy that will open up growth and prosperity - yet too many politicians are ducking the issue.
"Talking about boosting GDP per capita is all very well, but it requires reforms to skills policies, taxation, regulation and infrastructure that have been overlooked in this Parliament. We could unlock £39 billion of growth annually just by taking this challenge on."