UK professionals have started the year with a bang, with nationwide application rates soaring by a staggering 83.6 per cent in January 2018, when comparing findings with December 2017. This is according to the latest job market data from CV-Library.
The findings indicate that despite professionals remaining cautious about moving jobs in recent months, many are now ready to make their move in the labour market. In fact, most of the UK’s major cities witnessed stand out growth in applications, with the cities that saw the biggest increases including:
- Manchester – 92 per cent growth in applications
- Birmingham – 90.4 per cent growth in applications
- Edinburgh – 90.2 per cent growth in applications
- Southampton – 85.9 per cent growth in applications
- Bristol – 83.7 per cent growth in applications
- Brighton – 82.3 per cent growth in applications
- Sheffield – 80.6 per cent growth in applications
- Nottingham – 80.1 per cent growth in applications
- Portsmouth – 78.3 per cent growth in applications
- London – 77.2 per cent growth in applications
Not only this, but some of the nation’s key industries also saw application rates soar in January, with marketing (93.1 per cent), IT (93 per cent), manufacturing (90.1 per cent), accounting (88.4 per cent) and construction (87.1 per cent) all seeing impressive growth month-on-month.
Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments, ‘It’s true that in recent months application rates have remained stagnant, with the ONS reporting that the unemployment rate was at the joint lowest since comparable records began back in 1971. This is not surprising given the current state of the economy, in which many are looking for stability from their current employer.
‘But while the end of the year is traditionally a quieter time for recruitment, our Q4 job market report revealed that businesses were still working hard to attract talented candidates last quarter. This determination has clearly paid off and candidates have come back in full force this January, with application rates seeing staggering increases across the UK.’
Businesses also remained confident in January, with nationwide job vacancies seeing an impressive increase of 59 per cent month-on-month, and 11.2 per cent year-on-year. Despite this, advertised salaries for new roles fell by 0.9 per cent month-on-month and 1.8 per cent year-on-year.
Biggins concludes, ‘It’s great to see that advertised job vacancies also rose last month, with January traditionally being a busy time for recruitment. This is most likely because organisations will have received their annual budgets and are well aware that candidates will look for opportunities in the New Year. This impressive data suggests that both candidates and businesses are feeling secure right now and we hope that these figures are an indication of what’s to come as we progress further into 2018.’
Further reading on application rates
