Regional & Sector Reports

Job vacancies have continued on a downward trajectory, with the latest April numbers revealing a significant drop. While year-on year totals are down for the fourth consecutive month (January-April), talent shortages for nurses, carers and other medical staff persist.

"Like almost every other region in the UK – there does appear to be signs of a slowdown, the market is still producing new job roles, with a number of sectors driving much of this growth."

Across England and Wales (E&W), the HR jobs market saw its highest demand for talent in May 2022, with over 3,700 new vacancies posted, representing an 8.1% increase compared to the previous month.

“The shortage of engineering staff is continuing to impact businesses across the sector and the rise in vacancies noted for the first quarter of this year alongside a sustained fall in applications is cause for concern."

“With news of layoffs in Big Tech companies, the fall in IT vacancies that we have seen in the first quarter of the year is understandable, though it should be noted that the slight rise in March when the Chancellor’s technology skills focused Budget was announced could be a sign of positivity returning."

The data reveals that vacancies peaked at almost 20,000 in November 2022, which was followed by the biggest drop in December.

The number of job vacancies in the legal sector rose noticeably during the second half of 2022, peaking at almost 6,500 in November.

An analysis of annual performance indicates that 2022 was a buoyant year overall for professional vacancies, with over 100,000 job postings across the different Banking related sectors in England and Wales

After a strong start to 2022, jobs in IT started to fall, noticeably during the second half of the year– a reflection of the difficult economic conditions which have impacted hiring activity.

The volume of engineering jobs rose considerably in 2022 when compared to 2021, maintaining a consistently high level throughout the year.

Vacancies were consistently higher throughout 2022 in the construction sector than in 2021. The most notable change, though, was the significant jump in numbers during December 2022, which saw jobs more than double November’s tally.

Unlike other sectors, healthcare vacancies were down in 2022, with the monthly average lower by over 1,000 vacancies per month.

The report below is based on an analysis of the number of jobs posted on Broadbean’s database and the number of applications per vacancy over a set period.

The healthcare sector has experienced unprecedented levels of turbulence since the pandemic first hit and looks like it will continue on this trajectory for months to come.

With 40% more marketing vacancies in the first half of 2022 as opposed to H1 2021, this year has certainly been a busy time for recruiters in this remit.

The education sector is facing unprecedented challenges at the moment. With the possibility of strikes and resignations in the air, it’s perhaps no surprise that the quarterly vacancy rate has really ramped up this quarter, with figures higher than they have been since Q1 2021.

Across the engineering sector, we see a considerable drop of 44.1% in the number of applications in June 2022 when compared to the same month last year, which may not come as a surprise, given the widely reported skill shortages impacting this sector. Interestingly, vacancies have seen a similar decline during the same period, taking a significant tumble of 39.9%.

IT continues to surge across the UK with May proving to be the busiest month so far. When comparing IT vacancies in May 2022 to May 2021, we see that volumes are up by 55%. Analysed by year, a similar story emerges, in that the monthly average for 2022 is 30% up on 2021.

While manufacturing and engineering are a key part of the mix and what the region is best known for, there has also been a push to diversify. Among others, IT is becoming ever important to the region and in recent data provided by Innovate UK, we can see that AI and Data companies are the fifth largest in terms of receiving funding in the region, across all sectors.

Job figures in Northern Ireland fell considerably in June and were down by over 50% compared to March, reflecting a marked fall in GDP growth. Numbers decreased across all major industry sectors and locations. Average salaries for permanent roles did, however, rise in the main, no doubt positive news amid reports of the exorbitant increases in the cost of living. Application per vacancy rates held firm in some sectors such as IT, but decreased in others including manufacturing and production.

The number of jobs in Scotland decreased significantly by 45% in June compared to March with the decreases felt across all key sectors. Application per vacancy numbers remained steady but fell in the majority of cases with the notable exceptions of logistics, distribution & supply chain and sales. Average permanent salaries did, however, rise in most industry sectors to help meet the rising cost of living. Pay increases will struggle to mitigate inflation, though, which hit a record 40 year high in May.

If we look at the overall picture of the education sector for the period April 2021-April 2022, the standout trend is a considerable drop in the number of applications