London faring better than other regions with hiring levels

Although professional job vacancies have dropped by over a third in London, the country’s capital is actually the least impacted of all the regions.

Research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) with data provided by Vacancysoft, showed a 36.9% drop in hiring between January and May 2020 in London when compared to the same time last year, indicating the significant impact Covid-19 has had on professional recruitment to date.

However, while the capital has been hit hard, it has fared better than the rest of England and Wales, which reported a 48.4% decrease in hiring.

According to the report, IT roles and the technology sector have shown the most resilience, with IT roles accounting for 30% of jobs being advertised. This is to be expected considering the pressure being put on IT departments with the rise in remote working.

Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo, said, “The drop in professional vacancies is to be expected given the challenges that Covid-19 has presented. The biggest question now is how quickly demand will pick up. And with the Government’s furlough support reducing from August, there is the potential for further uncertainty.

“However, with the Mayor of London revealing at the end of June that the Greater London Investment Fund is now an accredited lender under the British Business Bank Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), there appears to be further stability for at least some of London’s businesses.”

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