Room for optimism or a house of cards
It was reported in the news last week that there are nearly 1 million job vacancies in the UK. This led me to think what sort of jobs are they, what sectors of the economy are these jobs in? Why are there so many vacancies?
My first thought regarding why, is maybe it is due to Brexit? An estimated 1M people from Europe have returned home, that makes sense. Our European cousins held many roles across every industry.
To look further into it, there are many jobs available in Insolvency, Accounting, Medical, Healthcare and Car Sales amongst others.
Insolvency, I totally understand. Many businesses have struggled through the pandemic. High Street Retail has really struggled. Forced to close through the lockdowns, high rents, staff costs etc. Any business that relied on walked in trade. The travel industry has been decimated as has the hospitality industry.
Accountancy with the move to digital accounts (Xero, Quickbooks, Sage etc) has made the industry evolve. Those companies on the ball and embracing the new technology have been and are still recruiting in specialist fields.
Medical. The demand across the medical industry is huge. Doctors and Nurses are always in high demand, that is without talking about lab technicians, Mental health professionals, and support staff.
Car sales is an odd one. At the start of the pandemic, car sales fell through the floor. Prices were falling etc, then it started to flatten out. Now, as people have money in their pockets, having not spent on their usual expenditure (holidays, meals out etc) they are buying new cars, replacing their old ones. The demand is high so car prices are going up, as are second hand cars etc. A friend of mine was talking to the owner of a Range Rover dealership, he said he can’t get enough cars to sell as they are selling that fast. He is crying out for staff to keep up with the enquiries they are taking.
The above is just an example of some industries currently thriving.
On the flip side there are an estimated 1.6m people still on furlough. Furlough is due to end at the end of September. These people are across so many industries, travel, the arts, the entertainment industry and retail to name but a few. Whilst some of the industries are starting to open up, how many jobs will be lost at the end of September?
My travel business (Admiral Travel) is slowly starting to trade our way out of the current predicament, though there is a long road ahead. We have no plans for any staff recruitment in the short term, though will need to recruit to replace the staff that have left as business returns. My recruitment company (Imperium Financial Recruitment) cannot find enough good candidates for the roles we have been asked to fill across the Insolvency, Accounting and financial services areas we cover.
There is an option to move industries, we have taken people from the travel industry and found them customer service positions within the insolvency and financial services. As vacancies rise, employers may be more open to transferable skills from a different industry.
I am no economist, nor political reporter, but I am pleased the economy is growing and improving, I can’t help feeling that is optimism needs to be tempered.
