More than 1.1m jobs available, but wages slip back

Job vacancies have topped 1.1 million, the highest for a year, although salaries continue to stagnate, a study reveals.

The Adzuna study found there were more vacancies than jobseekers. Picture: John Devlin

The number of advertised vacancies in November reached 1,165,052, up by 1.3 per cent from earlier in the year, jobs site Adzuna said.

Competition for positions has reached an all-time low, with more vacancies than jobseekers, said its report, which also showed that the average advertised salary is about £32,200, down by 2.7 per cent from November 2015.

Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “The jobs market has fared well in the main this year, given the unexpected events within the political climate.

“Despite total advertised vacancies increasing significantly, it may be too early to brand the jobs market a complete success given salary stagnation and the unpredictability that may lie ahead in the coming new year. This year we witnessed the jobs market offer encouragement for jobseekers and those already in roles in a number of different ways.”

Monro added: “The ongoing rise of the gig economy, improvements to the national minimum wage, the strength of well-performing regions such as Wales and sectors such as healthcare and nursing and charity and voluntary outperforming the traditionally strong industries have been particular highlights and show that the composition of the jobs market continues to evolve.

“2017 will certainly bring new prospects and challenges for the jobs market and the sooner Brexit plans are confirmed, the sooner businesses and individuals will be able to plan for the future with more certainty.”

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