A report from Reed.co.uk has found over 3.3 million jobs were added onto the website in 2021, over 1.5 million more than 2020 – a 97 per cent year-on-year rise. The site also reported a 25 per cent increase in new jobs posted last year compared with 2019, when 2.7 million jobs were recorded before the start of the pandemic.
September was the most active month for job postings, with 357,489 jobs created – increasing by 150 per cent and 60 per cent compared to 2020 and 2019 respectively.
Similarly, December – a month where job postings traditionally fall in the lead up to Christmas and New Year’s – saw nearly 350,000 new vacancies go live, the second most active month of 2021 and a 151 per cent and 132 per cent increase on 2020 and 2019’s figures respectively.
Job postings in every sector on Reed.co.uk were up year-on-year compared to 2020, with customer service (510 per cent) and transport & logistics (337 per cent) seeing the highest percentage increases, followed by banking (305 per cent), strategy & consultancy (255 per cent), hospitality & catering (176 per cent), retail (170 per cent) and manufacturing (136 per cent).
In terms of the number of new jobs created, transport & logistics was the most active sector in 2021 with 376,000 jobs posted, followed by customer service (338,954), IT & telecoms (264,184), education (256,301) and health & medicine (168,558).
Reed.co.uk found further evidence of a jobs boom through its regional analysis of job vacancies on the site. Every region across the UK saw job vacancies for last year outstrip 2020 and nearly all saw more jobs added than before the pandemic. South East England and London were the most active regions for job postings with both seeing over half a million new vacancies added last year, a 77 per cent and 108 per cent increase year-on-year, respectively.
Recent analysis of Reed.co.uk’s jobs data also suggests that the ongoing jobs boom will continue into 2022, with over 32,000 jobs live on the site in 24-hours on the first Tuesday of the new year – a new record.
“Across the UK, we are seeing record levels of job postings in virtually every sector on reed.co.uk,” said James Reed, chairman of Reed Recruitment. “A jobs boom has been underway for the past nine months in the UK – in May, Reed.co.uk recorded the most jobs in a month since the 2008 global financial crash, by July, the number of jobs posted on our website surpassed the total for the entirety of 2020 and in November we had over 300,000 jobs available throughout the entire month for the first time in our history.
“As we move into 2022, the momentum which has built up in the jobs market is showing no signs of slowing down either. It is now the best time in fifty years to look for a new job. In this newly established sellers’ market, jobseekers hold all the cards and should feel empowered to find new opportunities whether to explore different industries, improve work-life balance, increase wages or boost career prospects. I urge anyone thinking of switching career to explore the opportunities available to them.”
