The nation’s job hunters are a force to be reckoned with right now, as the UK saw an influx of job applications in October. That’s according to the latest data from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job site, which found that application rates across the UK increased by an impressive 12% when compared with data from September 2017.
The data also revealed that job vacancies saw an increase in October, rising by 8.8% month-on-month. This ongoing ‘job boom’ has clearly been well received by the nation’s professionals as many key cities across the UK witnessed a soar in applications. The top 10 cities for application growth include:
- Bristol – 20%
- Nottingham – 17%
- Brighton – 15.5%
- Southampton – 15%
- Portsmouth – 13%
- London – 12.7%
- Newcastle – 12%
- Hull – 11.9%
- Manchester – 11.7%
- Edinburgh – 10.8%
Interestingly, though not part of the UK, Dublin was the top city for rising application rates, seeing an increase of 26% month-on-month. Furthermore, Ireland as a whole witnessed a 16.3% growth when compared with data from September 2017. This could be a direct result of EU workers migrating to Ireland amidst ongoing uncertainty around Brexit.
Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library comments on the findings:
“In October we revealed that businesses across the UK were remaining confident and continuing to invest in their workforce, despite ongoing economic uncertainty. It’s great to see that those efforts paid off in October, with applications increasing for the first time in a while. Application rates have remained stagnant of late, but this is unsurprising given that many are reluctant to look for a new job while the future of the UK economy is still so undecided. We hope to see application rates continuing to grow as people look for new jobs ahead of Christmas and the New Year.”
“It’s also interesting to see that application rates in Ireland have seen such an impressive jump. Recent studies have suggested that there has been an increase in EU workers applying for roles in Ireland as a result of Brexit. At the same time, many UK organisations are seeking to set up regional hubs in Dublin to protect their businesses from the implications of Brexit. Though we don’t know for sure, our data certainly supports these theories.”
And the good news doesn’t stop there. Salaries also saw an increase last month, with pay packets rising by 1.4% month-on-month. What’s more, key cities across the UK including Sheffield (9.6%), Southampton (8.7%), Nottingham (5.8%) and Bristol (5.6%) saw above average hikes in advertised salaries.
Biggins concludes: “Higher advertised salaries are a likely driving force behind last month’s increased application rates. As such, it’s clear that businesses are pulling out all the stops to attract talented candidates to their vacancies. With candidate appetite beginning to pick up it’s vital that businesses don’t let their efforts slip now, and continue to work hard to offer the most competitive packages.”
