Online talent sourcing specialist, Talent.com, has launched a new report analysing what’s next for the UK labour market following Covid-19 and Brexit.
Conducted in association with labour economist Morgan Raux, 2022: Adapting to the New Normal combines official statistics from the Office for National Statistics with data from Talent.com to give an overview of how the job market has been affected by Covid-19 and Brexit, how labour market tightness has increased in the last two years and how it’s projected to keep evolving in 2022.
Candidates in control
The analysis of the UK’s labour market ‘tightness’ – which is calculated by the comparison of the jobs posted and the number of professionals available for work – highlights how the recruitment market has flipped to a candidate-led environment, with April 2021 marked as the time that vacancy growth surpassed the fall in unemployment, tipping the scales in favour of applicants.
Sectors to watch out for
In the report, Talent.com reveals the top sectors to look out for this year, highlighting that while labour market tightness increased in high-skilled jobs between 2020 – 2021, it was mid to low-skilled sectors that experienced the biggest increases.
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The food preparation and serving related sector saw the greatest increase in labour market tightness since the pandemic started – up 120%, a trend that is only going to continue in 2022. Transportation and material moving occupations also saw an 80% increase in labour market tightness, while healthcare reported a 50% increase in 2021, a figure which is only set to worsen should the NHS vaccine mandate go ahead.
A people first approach
According to Talent.com, the changes to the UK labour market since the pandemic have made a people-first approach to recruitment a priority for 2022, highlighting that the enhancement of diversity strategies, a simplified hiring process and a focus on internal talent mobility and staff retention will be the foundations for success.
Noura Dadzie - VP Sales UK & International Markets at Talent.com comments:
“While the UK has experienced a tight labour market in the past, our latest data highlights just how much pressure the employment landscape has been put under since the pandemic. With rising vacancy levels and decreasing unemployment figures, talent pools have been squeezed significantly. What we’re seeing now is more pressure on hiring and recruitment teams which is only going to exacerbate the need to channel recruitment expenditure into the right channels that will get your vacancy seen by the right people.”
“Across the sectors, hiring in transportation, logistics and warehousing is booming all over the UK. These industries show no signs of slowing down for too long. In the second half of 2022 we are very likely to see a rise year over year on both job adverts and hires, particularly for delivery drivers and warehouse workers.”
