Totaljobs Barometer Quarter 1, 2011

Competition for jobs more fierce than ever –
but growth in vacancies signals economic recovery

The Totaljobs Barometer statistics for the first quarter of the year reveal mixed fortunes for jobseekers. While job growth is on the rise, jobseeker activity has been accelerating at an even higher rate, and in January reached a level never seen before. 

Meanwhile, the growth in jobs is surprisingly being helped in no small part by the public sector and graduate markets, which showed some of the biggest percentage increases in new vacancies when compared to this time last year.

A buoyant start to the year

The total number of jobs advertised in the first quarter of 2011 was more than 370,000 – that’s 12% up on this time last year. 

Indeed, the 134,000 jobs that were advertised in March alone is the highest monthly total since January 2009.

Candidates broaden their job search

However, jobseeker activity has grown even more rapidly. There were more than 7 million job applications between January and March – 42% up on 12 months ago. That boils down to an average of 21 applications per job – a figure that stood at a mere 16 applications per job a year ago and has been rising steadily since June last year. 

“The online recruitment market has entered 2011 much stronger than it did 2010,” said John Salt, website director of totaljobs.com. “Back then, the ramp up in jobs advertised from the end-of-year lull in 2009 into early 2010 was just 5%. But leaving 2010 and entering 2011, we see a much healthier uplift of 19%. 

“But we also see candidates now casting their net even wider in their search for a job, hence the surge in competition for roles.”

Leading the recovery

Despite the continued hammerings that the public sector and graduate job markets receive in the press, these were actually the two categories showing the largest increase in new jobs compared to a year ago – they were respectively 44% and 42% up. 

Manufacturing (28%) and IT (24%) also enjoyed big increases year on year, while among the fastest out of the blocks in 2011 have been accountancy, construction and property, showing increases of 21%, 30% and 29% respectively from last quarter. 

Mike Booker, public sector director at totaljobs.com, commented: "The current economic uncertainty and austerity measures are driving efficiency throughout the public sector. This drive is migrating recruitment advertising to the most cost-effective channels."

In terms of regions, the highest growth rate by far year-on-year was seen in Scotland - followed by Yorkshire, the Midlands, and the North East. And more recently, the North West and South East have also started to fare well again. 

Where is the demand?

The toughest sectors to land a job continued to be customer service, secretarial and retail, though there was also a noticeable increase in demand for jobs in transport, banking & finance and catering & hospitality. 

London and the South East were again the most competitive regions with 22 and 32 applications on average for each job. 

And the most competitive jobs of all were for secretarial positions in the South East which received a staggering 76 applications per job on average.

What next?

Indications are that the current jobs growth is set to continue and a tipping point is required, whereby jobs growth starts to outstrip jobseeker demand, before the extraordinarily high application levels start to drop and the competition for jobs eases off. 

According to Salt: “We expect a bit of a dip in recruitment around the time of the royal wedding and extended Easter period, but aside from that, the upward trends are likely to continue. We’re in a period of solid growth, but feelings of uncertainty clearly still remain for the majority of jobseekers.”

>Overview

>Regional analysis

>Sector by sector

>Public sector

>Graduate focus

>Infographic

>Appendices

>Scottish Barometer report