UK Job Market Report May 2014  

UK Job Market Report – May 2014 Salary stagnations shows signs of improvement

Table 1: Adzuna Job Vacancy Index

   

    Monthly Change

UK Vacancies

6 Month Change

12 Month Change

Vacancy Index (June 2012=100)

Vacancy Index (Apr14)

823,081

-2.1%

9.9%

19.8%

119.5

Vacancy Index (Mar14)

841,011

5.0%

18.3%

23.6%

121.1

Table 2: Adzuna Average Salary Index

Salary Index (Apr14) Salary Index (Mar14)

   

   

UK Average Salary

Monthly Change

6 Month Change

12 Month Change

£32,185 £31,818

1.2% -0.6%

-3.2% -6.4%

-4.5% -5.3%

Salary Index (June 2012=100) 93.9 92.9

Key points:

•  Advertised salaries grew 1.2% month-on-month to £32,185 in April, marking the first positive growth in advertised pay since the start of the year. •  Unemployment dropped to a five year low, as the official UK unemployment rate hit 6.8%. Rising self-employment figures remain a strong driver for this drop. •  Available vacancies increased a fifth (19.8%) to 823,081 in the year to April 2014 , despite a small seasonal drop after Easter. •  Competition for jobs fell to a two year low, dropping 2% to 1.39 jobseekers per advertised vacancy. •  Graduate job prospects brighten significantly, with available vacancies up by a third (37.20%) since April 2013)  900,000      800,000      700,000      600,000      500,000      400,000      300,000      200,000      100,000      -­‐         Month  

5.5%   4.5%   3.5%   2.5%   1.5%   0.5%   -­‐0.5%   -­‐1.5%   -­‐2.5%   -­‐3.5%   Apr   May   Jun   Jul  13   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec   Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   13   13   13   13   13   13   13   13   14   14   14   14  

%  Change  

Vacancy  Index  

Chart  1:  Monthly  Change  in  Adver9sed  Job  Vacancy  

Total   Vacancies    

%  Change   MOM   Vacancies  

Chart 1 highlights a small dip in the number of vacancies across the UK, with advertised roles falling to 2.1% month on month to 823,081, marking the first monthly drop of 2014. Compared to April 2013 vacancy numbers, however, available roles in the UK have soared by almost 20%.

2  

Overview The Adzuna Job Index this month shows 823,081 vacancies being advertised across the UK in April 2014, marking a small seasonal monthly drop, although the level of available roles is still up by a fifth (19.8%) compared to 12 months ago. Falling competition for jobs further heightens the sense of positivity that pervades the jobs market, with jobseekers per vacancy dropping 2% month on month to 1.39 in April 2014. Reflecting this trend, this month also saw more vacancies than jobseekers in 18 cities around the UK, with Cambridge named the best city to find a job, offering five jobs to every job seeker. Conversely, despite continuing high levels of competition in some areas of the North, only four UK towns saw more than 10 job hunters fighting it out for each advertised role Salaries turn the corner Average advertised salaries in the UK saw their first monthly rise since September 2013, ending a trend of stagnation in British pay rates, with an increase of 1.2% on the prior month. Although average salaries have some way to go yet to match previous levels, these green shoots of recovery are a promising turnaround for British workers. Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, commented: “The labour market seems to have found its feet, with unemployment falling to a new five-year low of just 6.8%. And with average salaries beginning to echo this aura of positivity, we could well be seeing the beginnings of the next stage of job market recovery. A third consecutive monthly drop in competition for jobs across the UK completes what is shaping up to be an increasingly sunny picture for UK employment in 2014.” Where are all the jobs? Cities in the South continue to offer jobseekers a less competitive environment, with 9 of the ten best locations in Britain to find work still firmly rooted in the South. Even in the North, however, the local job markets are showing signs of improvement, with competition in each of the ten toughest job hunting spots falling month on month. Particularly notable for their improving fortunes this month are Rochdale and Hull. Rochdale fell from 3rd to 4th place in the ranking of toughest places to find work in the UK, with 11.92 jobseekers per vacancy, compared to 13.06 last month. Thanks to recent improvements, jobseekers in Hull now find it it twice as easy to find work as those in Sunderland or The Wirrall. Graduate growth Signs of positivity also penetrated the benighted graduate jobs sector, with over a third (37.20%) more vacancies to today’s newly qualified workforce than this time last year. To add to the good news for university leavers this summer, graduate pay rates saw a month-on-month increase of 1% in April, although there remains some distance to travel before entry-level salaries equal last year’s levels. Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, continued: “The bright lights that permeate much of the UK jobs sector are finally chasing away some of the shadows hovering over graduate employment, although we are far from out of the woods just yet. London and the South East remain graduate hotspots, still jointly hosting 45% of all national vacancies, but the North East, with almost 10% of the UK’s graduate roles, offers a glimmer of hope for those looking further afield ”

 3    

Chart  2:  UK  Adver9sed  Salary  Trend   1.5% Average   Salary  

1.0%

£33,000

0.5% 0.0%

£32,500

-0.5% £32,000

-1.0%

% Change

Average Salary (per annum)

£33,500

-1.5%

£31,500

%  Change   MOM   Salaries  

-2.0%

£31,000

-2.5% Oct 13

Nov 13

Dec 13

Jan 14

Feb 14

Mar 14

Apr 14

Month

Chart  3:  Monthly  Change  in  UK  Job  Vacancies  &  Salaries     2.0% 1.5% %  Change   MOM   Vacancies  

%  Change  

1.0% 0.5% 0.0%

-0.5%

Oct 13

Nov 13

Dec 13

Jan 14

Feb 14

Mar 14

%  Change   MOM   Salaries  

Apr 14

-1.0% -1.5% -2.0%

Month  

Jobseekers  per  Vacancy  

Chart  4:  6  Month  Change  in  Jobseekers  per  Vacancy     1.65 1.60 1.55 1.50 1.45 1.40 1.35 1.30 1.25 Nov 13

Dec 13

Jan 14

Feb 14 Month  

4  

Mar 14

Apr 14

•  Competition for jobs hits new lows: 18 cities in the UK now boast more vacancies than jobseekers, with Cambridge in the top spot offering more than five vacancies to every candidate. Comparatively, only 4 towns see more than 10 jobseekers per vacancy. •  Southampton named amongst least competitive cities for jobs: Southampton has rejoined the leaderboard for best places to find a job in the UK, with more vacancies than jobseekers. •  Job hunter fortunes show some signs of improvement in Rochdale as the town falls to 4th place in the toughest places to find work in the UK, with 11.92 jobseekers per vacancy.

5  

Regional Wage Breakdown

•  • 

Region

Total Vacancies

Average Salary

Salary % 12 Month Change

North East England London South East England East Midlands Yorkshire and The Humber Scotland South West England West Midlands North West England Wales Northern Ireland Eastern England

20,553 183,346 128,851 43,951 39,540 31,346 60,670 56,942 60,999 13,060 7,056 65,800

£27,628 £39,527 £30,928 £28,100 £27,414 £31,915 £28,855 £29,143 £28,318 £28,903 £29,328 £29,769

-0.9% -6.0% -3.0% -2.8% -3.3% -2.0% 0.7% -2.3% 0.5% 14.8% -1.3% -3.2%

As salaries across the UK begin to reflect signs of positivity in advertised pay rates, many regions saw an increase month on month, with the West Midlands (2.22%) and North East (2.06%) recording the strongest gains. While salaries may be yet to return to 2013 levels in many areas, a few bright spots stand out, with year on year increases in Wales, the South West and across the North West.

UK job sector breakdown Biggest Improvers - Job sector by average salary

Job Sector

Average salary

Salary % 12 Month Change

Total Vacancies

Scientific & QA Jobs Manufacturing Jobs Consultancy Jobs Healthcare Jobs Travel Jobs

£36,249 £27,106 £40,744 £33,163 £22,854

7.1% 6.7% 5.6% 2.8% 1.6%

9,732 15,556 13,971 87,247 10,824

Salary % 12 Month Change -12.6% -8.9% -8.3% -5.3% -3.8%

Total Vacancies 25,940 51,489 83,765 20,502 15,732

Worst decliners - Job sector by average salary Job Sector Retail Jobs Teaching Jobs Accounting & Finance Jobs Customer Service Jobs Graduate Jobs

•  •  • 

Average salary £27,138 £22,698 £34,680 £18,596 £24,105

Science and QA Jobs top the leaderboard, with average advertised salaries soaring 7.1% since April 2013, to £36,249. Manufacturing sector comes a close second, with average pay up 6.7% year on year and vacancies up 7.64% in the last two months. Retail salaries remain some way from 2013 levels, however, taking the title for worst declining salaries with a 12.6% drop to £27,138. 6

Press contacts Victoria Turton, The Wriglesworth Consultancy [email protected], 0207 427 1445 Report author Becky Harkins, Adzuna [email protected], 0783 007 6062 About Adzuna Adzuna.co.uk is a search engine for classified ads, used by over 5 million visitors per month, which makes it easier to find the right job for you. We search thousands of websites so you don't have to and bring together millions of ads so you can find them all in one place. We add powerful search, insightful market data and social connections, so you can find your perfect job with a little help from your friends. Adzuna’s data also powers the Number 10 Dashboard, used by the Prime Minister and senior officials to keep track of economic growth on a daily basis. Adzuna.co.uk was founded in 2011 by Andrew Hunter and Doug Monro, formerly of eBay, Gumtree, Qype and Zoopla and is backed by leading Venture Capital firms Passion Capital, The Accelerator Group and Index Ventures.

About the Adzuna Job Market Report Adzuna has the most complete index of UK job vacancies covering all regions in the UK. The technology collects every job vacancy advertised online in the UK from over 300 sources. This data is then normalised, de-duplicated, mix-adjusted and outliers are removed in real time to give users an accurate, complete, up to the minute view of the job market. Claimant count data is based on the latest 2014 Labour Market Statistics released on 14th May 2014 by the ONS. The city areas referred to in this study are the ONS ‘residence based proportions’. The top 50 cities in the UK were ranked by comparing the job vacancies in Adzuna’s comprehensive search index of over 800,000 live jobs to the number of claimants in each city from the latest ONS data released in May 2014. The full Jobseeker’s Allowance claimant count statistics are available for download here: http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/

7