Fivefold increase in Hospitality & Catering jobs in 2021 as vacancies hit 1.3 million

• UK job ads hit 1.3 million in first week of October
• September saw 85,300 job ads for Hospitality & Catering roles, up +459% from January
• Steep increase in job ads for Bar Staff (+1,313%), Chefs (+729%), & Waiters (+578%) 
• Lorry Drivers account for 1 in 50 of all UK job vacancies
• 17,000 more Lorry Driver job vacancies than the start of the year (+272%); 60,000 more roles on offer in Logistics & Warehouse sector (+115%)
• Brexit holes may be forming, with demand for Interpreters up +738% as fewer candidates with language skills are available
• Sharp five-year decline in demand for Optometrists, Car Sales Executives, & Travel Consultants evidencing industry disruption

Advertised UK vacancies have topped 1.3 million with the worst ‘hiring holes’ appearing in Hospitality & Catering and Logistics & Warehouse roles, according to new research from smarter job search engine Adzuna.

The research analysed trends in advertised job vacancies on Adzuna across over 5,500 job titles, looking back to the start of 2021 to expose the sectors and job niches struggling most to hire.

The UK has reached record levels of overall hiring with 1.2 million vacancies on offer in September, according to the ONS and live Adzuna job market data revealing job ads have already hit 1.3 million (1,296,599 advertised vacancies) in the first week of October. This is the result of a combination of factors including a lack of skilled candidates available to fill specialist roles like HGV Drivers, falling jobseeker demand for certain positions, and strong sector growth outstripping the supply of new candidates in some areas.

Supply demand imbalance

Hospitality & Catering has seen the steepest increase in job ads of any sector since the start of the year, with 85,382 positions open in September 2021, up +459% from 15,264 in January. This includes advertised openings for Bar Staff growing +1,313% to 3,061, jobs for Chefs up +729% to 6,695, and positions for Waiters rising +577% to 5,604.

The Logistics & Warehouse sector has seen an uptick of +115% equal to 60,000 more advertised roles than in January. In particular, openings for Warehouse Workers are up +414% with 22,732 vacancies in September, over 18,000 more than at the start of the year. This is prompting companies to offer higher than ever sign-on bonuses to try and tempt new joiners, with Amazon offering signing bonuses of up to £3,000 in demand areas.

The huge pick up in HR & Recruitment roles, up +190% since January to 20,221 openings in September, reflects the growing emphasis on hiring new talent.

Skill shortages

Lorry Driver job ads for HGV and LGV Drivers have risen +272% with 23,553 openings on offer in September, 17,000 more than at the start of the year. Lorry Drivers accounted for 1 in 50 job openings available in September, 1.98% of the total vacancies on offer (1,188,258).

There is also evidence of other skills gaps forming. Job ads for Interpreters have risen +738% from January, as fewer jobseekers with language skills are looking for work in the UK. Meanwhile, demand for Veterinary Nurses has grown +265%, caused by the lockdown pet-buying boom.

The Trade & Construction sector is also suffering from skills shortages, with advertised vacancies up +70.2% from January to 98,462 openings, and demand for Labourers up +102%.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of job search engine Adzuna, comments: "Hiring holes are appearing throughout the UK jobs market and pushing up overall vacancy levels to record highs. A combination of booming sectors, a skills shortage, and jobseeker disinterest for some roles has created a recruitment conundrum. Employers are responding by raising wages and offering bonuses, but smaller employers who can’t afford to compete are struggling.”

The bright spots

Not all of the hiring rises signal recruitment problems, some of the recent gains reflect the resurgence of sectors previously held back by the global pandemic. The data reveals a welcome return in hiring for Spa Therapists (+647%), Stagehands (+519%), & Event Managers (+441%) as these industries finally start coming back to life post-pandemic.

The job roles at risk of extinction

The research also looked at the prevalence of job ads for each job title compared to five years ago, to reveal which roles are declining fast and are at risk of becoming extinct.

Job ads for Optometrist positions have fallen -92% over the last five years, with just 222 advertised vacancies on offer in September ’21, down from 2,913 in September ’16.

Similarly, openings have also slipped significantly for Car Sales Executives (-69%), Telesales Advisors (-69%), and Travel Consultants (-65%).

Worryingly, openings for Mental Health Nurses are down -74% compared to five years ago despite the growing mental health crisis, perhaps reflecting budget cuts.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of job search engine Adzuna, continues: "While jobs for HGV Drivers and Warehouse Workers have boomed, other jobs have gone into reverse and may be facing extinction. Automation and AI like chatbots are reducing the need for Telesales Advisors and Travel Consultants. The automotive industry is also undergoing huge disruption, with online used car marketplaces like Cazoo taking the place of many second hand car showrooms. Meanwhile, the decline in openings for Mental Health Nurses may reflect a funding squeeze, rather than falling demand for specialists.”

Table 1: Job ad growth in 2021 - by sector

Table 2: 20 job roles seeing growth in job ads in 2021

 Table 3: The job roles dying out over the last 5 years