Yahoo Finance Coronavirus: Job vacancies plummet by 63% during lockdown
Job vacancies have plummeted by 63% during the coronavirus lockdown, according to figures released this week.
Vacancies in the second quarter of 2020 were down 62.7%, compared with the same period in 2019, and down 61.2% quarter-on-quarter, data from job board CV-Library shows.
This drop, likely a result of businesses struggling to operate during the COVID-19 lockdown, was felt across all areas of the UK.
Aberdeen saw the biggest drop, at 80%, while Bristol (70%), Leeds (70%), Birmingham (68%), and Glasgow (68%) followed closely behind.
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Looking at key industries, administration saw the greatest fall in job adverts — at 87%. Meanwhile, design (86%), sales (84%), recruitment (82%), catering (82%), media (82%), marketing (81%), leisure and tourism (79%), hospitality (78%), and customer service (78%) took similar hits.
“It’s no secret that lockdown measures stunted the UK economy and labour market during this period. As a result, businesses had no choice but to put a pause on their hiring plans and make difficult decisions about their workforce,” explained Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library.
“These figures are pretty bleak and naturally, some industries and locations have been more affected by others. What I can say, however, is that the market is already showing signs of recovery this month, albeit it very, very slowly.”
Despite job security being a concern for many Brits right now, job applications also dropped by nearly a quarter (23%) year-on-year, the data shows.
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However, applications did rise in industries that rely on key workers. Applications for agriculture jobs shot up by 220%, and for public sector jobs by 179%. Meanwhile, applications for medical roles saw a smaller but still significant increase of 28%, and social care jobs went up by 14%.
In addition, the application to job ratio across the nation rose 84%, meaning there are more people “battling it out” for every job, CV-Library said.
Bristol saw the biggest rise in applications per job with an increase of 175%, followed by Edinburgh (up 129%), Brighton (137%), Southampton (125%) and Leicester (117%).
Pay has dropped in sectors that have been hit hardest by the pandemic, the data shows. Salaries are down 20% in leisure and tourism, 10% in charity, 8% in catering and 2% in hospitality.
However, pay actually increased by 5% across the UK, compared to the previous quarter — potentially due to businesses advertising fewer jobs but with higher pay, according to CV-Library.
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