August job data from Indeed.com shows that job vacancies within both the Hospitality and Healthcare sectors are on the rise, with the number of jobs available in each sector increasing by over a third from this time last year (August 2013). These increases coincide with recent fears over a widening skills gap in the healthcare sector in particular.
Industry Employment Trends
Top growth industries (month on month) – change compared to July 2014
- Transportation (5%)
- Healthcare (up 3%)
- Hospitality (up 3%)
- Construction (up 3%)
- Manufacturing (up 1%)
Top growth industries (year on year) – change compared to August 2013
- Real Estate (up 47%)
- Education (up 40%)
- Hospitality (up 36%)
- Healthcare (up 34%)
- Transportation (up 34%)
Key stats:
- London outstrips all other UK cities with healthcare job vacancies, totalling almost 250,000
- Outside of London, Manchester and Birmingham are the top UK employment hubs for the healthcare industry
- Job postings have increased in August across all sectors compared to July
- Overall, the Retail sector had the highest number of job postings in the UK in August, with 156,252 positions available
Commentary from David Rudick, VP International Markets, Indeed.com
“While we see continued strong employment growth in the transportation and construction sectors this month, both the healthcare and hospitality industries have steadily been climbing the vacancies ladder across the past year, this month alone experiencing an increase of 3% compared with July.
It’s perhaps worrying then that figures released earlier this year showed that growing healthcare skills shortages in the UK are leading the NHS to recruit heavily from other EU countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal, with overseas recruitment increasing by more than 50% this year already. The shortage is felt most in the capital, with London standing at 248,946 vacancies, more than four times the national average.
Plugging this skills gap needs to go back further than adapting undergraduate studies – employers need to work more closely with local schools and colleges to develop the skills of young people in the UK, particularly in sectors like healthcare and engineering where practical work experience is incredibly important. The Government has already taken steps to introduce apprenticeships for school leavers, such as Nick Clegg’s apprenticeship scheme, but continued skills shortages and rising vacancies suggest that more steps need to be made in this direction.”
About Indeed UK monthly employment index
The data used within this release can all be accessed online at the Indeed website, showing data for the number of job seekers per job posting in the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.K., which cities have the most job postings per inhabitant and job postings available per industry on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis (from September 2011 to present).
View the latest industry employment trends data here: http://www.indeed.co.uk/jobtrends/industry
View the latest Job postings per Capita data here: http://www.indeed.co.uk/jobtrends.jsp
View the latest Job Market Competition data here: http://www.indeed.co.uk/jobtrends/unemployment
