According to the latest job market data from the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, the number of job postings has dropped by 25.9% year-on-year. However, it is worth noting that this figure still grew by 9.7% month-on-month.

The job board analysed data from its site throughout the month of October and compared the findings with data from October 2019 and September 2020.  While the month-on-month growth in job postings suggests the UK job market saw some recovery in October, it’s likely this progress will be short-lived due to the impending national lockdown.

Interestingly, the data shows that the distribution sector is the only industry which has seen significant growth in job postings both month-on-month and year-on-year. Indeed, vacancies in the sector increased by 76.9% and 71.7%, respectively. This demonstrates the increased demand for distribution workers during the pandemic and with a second lockdown imminent, this demand is unlikely to subside. 

Sadly, on the other end of the spectrum, the retail sector is in much more precarious situation. While vacancies grew by 20.2% in the sector, likely in preparation for the Christmas rush, they’re still a whopping 58.7% down on last year. As a result, it may be tougher for the industry to rebound when these latest restrictions are lifted, particularly as it falls during their most profitable time of the year.

Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library comments: “In different circumstances, this data would be much more positive. After all, it suggests that the UK job market is finally starting recover after the first lockdown. However, as we enter a second national lockdown, it’s clear to see that the UK economy is in a much more fragile position than it was in March. This obviously spells bad news for businesses. However, if the duration of the lockdown is over a shorter period of time, the signs of recovery we’ve started to see will hopefully be evident sooner, too.”     

Alongside this, the findings show that job applications have also dropped by 6.2% month-on-month and 1.6% year-on-year.  What’s more, while the ratio of applications per vacancy has dropped by 14.5% in October, it still remains 32.9% higher than in October 2019.

Biggins continues: “The drop in job applications suggests that candidates have lost faith in the market and this is completely understandable given the current circumstances. It could also mean that businesses find it harder to discover top talent.  If you’re still planning on hiring this month, then be sure to bear this in mind and make your job advert really stand out.”