News and Events - National

By The Journal
June 3rd 2013

UK job vacancies increase

This article was originally published at nebusiness.co.uk

THE number of job vacancies increased last month, suggesting that the employment market is at its healthiest for years, according to a new report.

Recruitment group Reed said there was an 8% rise in May, giving an annual growth rate of 17%.

But pay remained ‘static’ in May, with salary levels remaining the same as a year ago.

The biggest increases in jobs were in education, health and training, with every region of the UK apart from Northern Ireland recording rises.

Reed chairman James Reed said: “In line with the season, the jobs market has bloomed this Spring after steadying in April. We are particularly encouraged by the fact that the majority of employment sectors are showing growth.

“We believe that a jobs-led recovery is the way forward for the UK economy and, with the latest service sector and house price data starting to indicate the wider health of the economy picking up of late, we are starting to see the tentative recovery very much being led by the buoyant jobs market.”

Meanwhile, a record number of people are applying for apprenticeships, with up to 17 per vacancy, new figures have shown.

Almost 370,000 applications were made online in the quarter to April, an increase of a third compared to the same time last year.

The number of apprenticeships being advertised rose by 15% to 32,600, with between 10 and 17 people applying for each position.

The National Apprenticeship Service said the most competition was in London, with 17 applications per vacancy.

The biggest increases in apprenticeship vacancies were in vehicle sales, the power industry, clinical healthcare support, advanced engineering construction and leisure management.

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