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November saw the number of live vacancies fall to their lowest level since May, according to global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters, however 2021 remains a record year for hiring.
Fears over the Omicron Covid-19 variant as well as downgraded infrastructure investment are believed to have contributed to November’s slowdown in advertised vacancies, particularly in the North, putting an end to 10 consecutive months of growth and record highs in the number of unfilled job roles.
Across England, professional vacancies rose 110% on 2020, and 55% above pre-pandemic levels, with the North of England recording the fastest growth in hiring intentions of any UK region. London however continued to lead the way in professional services recruitment, representing 42% of all vacancies.
Vacancy growth in the UK’s regions has been helped by the financial services sector, which has seen the biggest increase in hiring plans outside of London, and created jobs in other major cities, particularly Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.
Chris Poole – Managing Director of Robert Walters – commented:
“It is not surprising to hear that hiring slowed somewhat in November – where following the reopening of many sectors post lockdown, businesses made immediate staffing assessments based on people leaving or not returning, which in-turn led to a short-term spike in hiring that was always going to be temporary.
“The emergence of a new variant has yet again left members of parliament sitting on either side of the lockdown argument – creating a lingering air of uncertainty across businesses, particularly within the retail, leisure and hospitality space.
“Nonetheless, the UK is better placed to handle COVID over winter than other European countries – in part due to an early lift of lockdown measures, backed by the vaccine and booster programme roll-out. This means that while in other countries we may well see a complete recruitment freeze take place in certain areas, this is unlikely to happen in the UK.”
Robert Walters have published their findings ahead of the release of their 2022 UK Salary Guide.