Scramble for events sector jobs as 'freedom day' beckons: online postings soar 172%

Job postings in the events sector have soared as the various parts of the UK move towards their “freedom days”, new figures reveal.

Jobseekers responded to the resumption of entertainment events and crowds at sport with a 219 per cent jump in searches for stewarding jobs and a 197 per cent rise in interest in nightclub roles. Picture: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Postings for roles in the events industry as a whole are up 172 per cent compared to this time last year, and have risen 29 per cent between May and July alone, according to jobs site Indeed.

While postings still lag 32 per cent behind where they were in 2019, experts said that based on the current trajectory they could reach their pre-pandemic levels by November.

Roles in the events sector currently being advertised on the site include event managers, visitor experience managers and event hosts at some of the UK’s major tourist attractions.

Venues are also hiring stewards, security managers, ticket salespeople and audio-visual technical assistants as they scale up their operations.

Indeed said jobseekers have reacted to the news that restrictions on the last remaining sections of the economy to still be effectively closed will be rolled back in a series of freedom days, on July 19 in England, August 7 in Wales and August 9 in Scotland, with a surge of interest in the roles on offer.

Searches for steward jobs have risen 219 per cent since last July, when postings were almost at their lowest point since the pandemic started. The biggest increase came in May this year, as crowds returned to sporting test events, and interest has continued to climb since.

Jack Kennedy, UK economist at Indeed, said: “The full reopening of the economy across Britain spells good news for the events sector, which has spent much of the pandemic stuck in a deep freeze.

“Employers in the events sector reacted quickly to the Prime Minister’s confirmation of England’s July 19 ‘freedom day’, and job postings are now well on their way to reaching pre-pandemic levels.

“Jobseekers have also leapt at the chance to start work in the sectors that have been all but closed since March 2020. Some workers may have switched to another industry while festivals were cancelled and sporting events were held behind closed doors, but are now flocking back to their previous roles as stewards and in nightclubs.”

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