Welcome to the Totaljobs Employment Index Welcome to the October edition of the Totaljobs Employment Index (TEI). Each month we analyse data from our website to highlight employment trends; with over 6 million jobseekers visiting our site every month and 110,000 live job adverts, our data provides a powerful indication of how the job market is performing. Aside from UK job market trends, we also take a look at one key theme in the report each month. This month we re looking at the subject of age discrimination. In our most recent candidate survey to support our #MillionPoundJamie campaign, we were surprised by how many older experienced candidates told us they are struggling to find work. Is this pool of experienced talent being overlooked? How can recruiters and employers avoid missing out?
Totaljobs Employment Index October 2016 It s Party Conference season, a time to hear politicians making promises and announcing policies to try and win the confidence of the voting public. Both the major parties have laid out their thoughts on Brexit and how the UK job market will be affected. In one camp, Andrea Leadsom has insisted that young British people take up jobs in agriculture and David Davis declared that Britons will be prioritised in the jobs market over foreigners once Britain eventually leaves the EU. While in the Labour camp, complaints were made of poor employment regulation with the rise in temporary jobs and zero hour contracts. What we can all agree on though is that nobody knows what will happen once Theresa May triggers Article 50, something she has pledged to do by the end of March 2017 In more positive news, this month s ONS Labour Market Report shows that even during this unsettling period, unemployment has fallen yet again. We ve seen this positivity reflected in our September website data, which showed the number of jobs posted on the site increase by 7% year-on-year. Job Posts Applications 7% year-on-year 1% year-on-year The outlook here is much more positive jobs increased by 8% in Q3 2016 compared to Q3 2015 The October Totaljobs Employment Index (TEI) paints a cautious, yet positive picture of the job market with job postings up 7% year-on-year (YOY) and Q3 vs Q2 postings up 1%. Applications were also up a steady 1% YOY yet down -4% vs the last three months. However, the seasonal nature of the job market means that to generate a more accurate picture of the market s performance we need to look at this quarter s figures versus the same period last year. The outlook here is much more positive jobs increased by 8% in Q3 2016 compared to Q3 2015, with both applications up 12% and applications per job up 3%. As there are more jobs being posted this year than last, it seems that any impending Brexit changes aren t showing to have had any negative impact on the job market yet, and employers are still hiring.
Looking at Q3 2015 vs Q3 2016, the strongest performing regions for jobs postings include Wales, East Anglia and the North West. Q3 2015 VS Q3 2016 North West +15% Northern Ireland -8% Wales +13% East Anglia +11% What s happening across the UK? Year-on-year jobs growth across the country was broadly positive in September. The very best performers were towards the north of the country with Scotland up 32%, the North West up 17%, and the East Midlands up 12%. The slowest growth was seen across the water in Northern Ireland (-24%). If we look at the figures for Q2 vs Q3 2016, the Midlands and North of the country still come out on top with the strongest jobs growth including the East Midlands (up 5%), the North West (up 4%), and Yorkshire (up 3%). Northern Ireland doesn t fare much better in these figures either as one of the slowest performers for jobs growth (-25%), along with the North East (-5%) and Scotland (-5%). Looking at Q3 2015 vs Q3 2016, the strongest performing regions for jobs postings include Wales (up 13%) East Anglia (up 11%) and the North West (up 15%). Northern Ireland was the only region to fall (down 8%). Jobs announcements, such as that of the French train company Alstom this month stating the creation of 600 new jobs in the North West, are extremely positive during a time of uncertainty.
Which industries had the greatest job growth and falls? Industry-wise the strongest year-on-year performers in September for jobs growth were catering and hospitality (up 26%), health and nursing (up 23%) and accountancy (up 14%). The industries that didn t perform so well, perhaps unsurprisingly due to the current economic situation, were banking, insurance and finance (down 11%) and IT and Internet (down -6%). Q3 2015 vs Q3 2016 year-on-year performance Banking, insurance, finance +26% Construction +40% Property +58% Public Sector -3% Retail -12% Looking at Q2 vs Q3 2016, the strongest jobs growth over the summer months was in catering and hospitality (up 25%), transport and logistics (up 16%) and customer services (up 7%). As expected given the season, the slowest performers were education (-14%), banking, insurance & finance (-13%), public sector & service (-5%). In terms of year-on-year performance, banking, insurance, finance (up 26%), construction (up 40%) and property (up 58%) were by far the best performing sectors from Q3 2016 to Q3 2015 a strong indicator of how the property boom has driven job creation and demand for skills. Public sector was down 3%, as was retail (-12%). Although the overall picture for jobs is bright, the public sector is still feeling the aftershocks of cut backs. What does this mean for you as an employer? These positive figures show us that despite political turmoil and an impending Brexit, the UK is still open for business, and employers are still hiring. The supply challenge facing some sectors has not subsided; it can be tough to hire the right people, with the right qualifications, at the moment. This month, we shine a spotlight on a group of candidates who are saying that they feel they are sometimes overlooked because of their age could this group of candidates potentially help to fill vacancies that employers are struggling to recruit for?
Spotlight on age discrimination In a candidate-led market such as this we know it s not always easy to attract the very best talent. As part of the research we conducted to support our #MillionPoundJamie campaign we spoke to lots of jobseekers about the challenges they felt they faced when looking for work to see where there might be hiring opportunities for employers. Interestingly, once jobseekers reach 35 they are much more likely to see their age as a disadvantage than as an advantage. A staggering 63% of 55-64 year-olds told us that they have felt discriminated against by a prospective employer because of their age. Despite bringing with them a wealth of knowledge and experience almost half (44%) said their age is a disadvantage when job hunting, compared to only 23% who said it s an advantage. While some jobs require skills that perhaps more recent entrants into the market tend to have, such as digital skills, is there more that either Government or businesses can do to help retrain older candidates to help fill these in-demand vacancies? 63% of 55-64 year-olds told us that they have felt discriminated against by a prospective employer because of their age
John Salt, Group Sales Director What are employers missing out on by only hiring young talent? In a candidate-led market where businesses continue to create new jobs, there s no reason for employers to miss out on talent. But, our survey shows that age discrimination, whether conscious or unconscious, is still an issue that many jobseekers feel is impacting them. Older generations bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge. In many cases candidates with more experience tend to be more confident and able to creatively problem solve based on both the life and work experiences they have dealt with over the years. Employers and recruiters who include a broad range of candidates within their recruitment process are much more likely to identify strong potential employees. On the totaljobs website, we ve got plenty of advice for making sure recruitment takes place without bias, just visit www.totaljobs.com. We hope you have enjoyed reading this month s edition of the Totaljobs Employment Index. For more info on how totaljobs can help your team, please get in touch 0333 0145 111 www.totaljobs.com/recruiter