Employers across key UK cities enter spring with ambitious hiring plans

Employers around the UK are ramping up their workforces heading into spring, new labour market data has suggested.

According to the latest job market report from independent job site CV-Library, job vacancies nationwide rose by 7.6 per cent in March compared with last February.

CV-Library said the data explored fluctuations in pay, jobs and applications throughout the month and declared that the findings suggested that business owners across the nation were feeling confident.

This was particularly noticeable in the UK regions with the top cities for growth headed by Aberdeen with advertised jobs up 18.4 per cent, Liverpool and Sheffield both up 14.8 per cent and Glasgow 12.3 per cent higher.

Other noticeable growth was recorded in Cardiff, Hull, Portsmouth, Bristol and Manchester. London was only tenth in the list with jobs up 9.1 per cent.

The study added that despite advertised salaries seeing a slight decrease of 0.3 per cent month on month, application rates increased by 1.4 per cent.

Again, regional growth was most striking with candidate applications seeing impressive hikes in Aberdeen up 14.4 per cent, Glasgow 10 per cent higher, Portsmouth up 9.7 per cent, Leeds six per cent higher and Sheffield rising five per cent.

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Some of the UK’s leading industries also saw strong job growth last month, with vacancies in education up 17.5 per cent, catering up 17.1 per cent, retail increasing 15.7 per cent, legal up 13.6 per cent and marketing 11.3 per cent higher in March.

it’s positive to see that businesses are continuing to drive their recruitment efforts this spring, following a strong start to the year. What’s more, the increase in vacancies can be seen across a number of key UK cities and industries, suggesting that business confidence is nationwide, said Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library.

it’s clear that UK job hunters were also feeling optimistic in March, with application rates also increasing. This is particularly good news for businesses that are facing the backlash of a widening skills gap and suggests that there is a healthy pipeline of talent to fill their roles.

as we approach the second quarter of 2018 we hope to see this confidence continue on both sides, though businesses should consider offering more competitive pay packets if they wish to see candidate appetite strengthen even further this year.

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