Latest data has found that once again it’s become a buyer’s market as vacancies continue to rise but the number of applicants applying drops significantly.
The Broadbean Technology report found that the number of applicants per vacancy across three sectors fell between Q1 and Q2 2021, while the number of vacancies increased.
According to the data, the retail sector has been hit the worst with firms struggling to source staff, and the current ‘pingdemic’ situation is expected to make things worse with several firms reporting entire stores are being forced to shut because of self-isolation rules.
Alex Fourlis, Managing Director at Broadbean Technology, commented, “As the UK slowly emerges from the pandemic and businesses return to some sense of normality, the fact that vacancies are rising so rapidly is certainly encouraging and reflective of not only confidence returning to employers, but also businesses opening up after being shut for so long requiring staff to contend with increased demand.
“However, the fact that we are seeing applicant numbers fall and companies starting to really struggle to recruit is worrying and could hamper the UK’s ability to build back after the pandemic. And while we expect applicant numbers to pick up once again in September after the usual summer lull, the next few weeks will prove a testing time for the employment market, particular given the huge numbers of people isolating due to the ‘pingdemic’.”
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