As we come to the end of 2014, we take a look back at the nation’s recruitment and job searching activity over the last full working month of the year.
Key findings
- There was a 7% decrease in the number of job applications made across the UK between October and November 2014.
- However, there was in total a 5% year on year increase between November 2013 and 2014.
- The number of job applications took a seasonal dip in most regions, however job hunters in areas such as Southampton (+9%), Edinburgh (+3%) and Newcastle (+1%) made more job applications than they did in October.
- The most new jobs were posted in Engineering, Construction, Education, Sales and the Medical sector, respectively.
Job applications by sector
The industries which saw the most job applications across the UK in November were Administration (with applications representing 15% of total job applications), Engineering (10%) and Construction (8%).
The fastest growing sectors year on year were Construction (with a 19% increase since November 2013), Manufacturing (+15% year on year), and Accounting and Retail, which both attracted 12% more applications over the last 12 months.
Job opportunities
With over 105,000 jobs posted in November, the breakdown of sectors with the most new employment opportunities is as follows:
- Engineering - 17%
- Construction – 11%
- Education – 10%
- Sales – 7%
- Medical – 6% (of total)