UK jobs market weak ahead of lockdown despite rise in vacancies
The number of firms looking to add to their workforces grew in the third quarter after a historic contraction in the spring, but the UK jobs market remained weak ahead of the recently announced second lockdown, a survey has shown.
In the third quarter, 37 per cent of firms attempted to recruit, according to the quarterly survey from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and jobs website Totaljobs.
The figure was up from the historic low of 25 per cent in the second quarter. But it was still much lower than the pre-Covid reading of 55 per cent in the first three months of the year.
The survey adds to the evidence that the UK jobs market was fragile even before coronavirus cases surged.
At the weekend, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a second lockdown for England. It is scheduled to last for four weeks, and will see pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops closed.
One in five firms expect to hire
Experts say it will hit the UK economy hard. Unemployment has so far only risen to 4.5 per cent from 3.9 per cent before the pandemic due to various government support schemes. But it is now set to jump, economists say.
“Given the scale of the challenge, it is vital that business and government work together on retraining and re-skilling the UK workforce,” said Adam Marshall, director general of the BCC.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced this weekend that the furlough scheme will be extended through November.
Marshall said this “will bring short-term relief to many firms”. Yet he said that “much more clarity is needed from the government to ensure businesses can plan and are not left to guess from one month to the next”.
Only 18 per cent of firms expected the size of their workforce to expand over the coming months in the third quarter, the survey showed. That was up from 12 per cent in the second quarter but down sharply from 31 per cent in the first three months of the year.
Vacancies on the Totaljobs website were at 68 per cent of their pre-pandemic level.
However, some sectors were recovering more strongly than others, according to the survey. Non-consumer facing industries appeared to fare the best amid continued social distancing.
Construction vacancies almost doubled quarter on quarter, while logistics vacancies more than doubled.