UK Labour Market Insights | February 2023

Trends across the UK

In January, unique job postings across the country increased by +11.5% compared to December. The total of 2.2 million job postings was +21.9% higher than in January 2022.
Across the country, the sector which saw the largest increase was Cleaning and Facilities Management. It had a 20.7% increase in unique job postings compared to the previous month.
According to the Institute for Employment Studies, we’re seeing some potential positive change in the labour market, with economic inactivity due to long-term ill health, early retirement and studies slightly falling.
However, it should be noted that economic inactivity due to long-term ill health remains well above pre-pandemic levels. We could be seeing early signs of a wider labour market slowdown.

In January, unique job postings in London increased by +7.2% compared to the previous month.
Enfield saw a large increase in unique job postings compared to December (+24.6%).
Among sectors in South and East London, Tourism, Leisure and Arts saw the biggest increase of +22.3% compared to December. This was a positive change for the sector, which has seen a continuous decline in the last three quarters of 2022.
Protective Services related roles increased by +12.4% compared to the previous month. This sector has seen continuous growth in the capital in recent months

Unique job postings in Scotland increased by +8.4% compared to December. This increase has broken the continuous declining trend we’ve seen over the last five months.
Lanarkshire saw a significant increase of +17.9% compared to the previous month.
In South Lanarkshire, Health & Social Care related roles increased by +24.1% compared to December. This sector accounts for 21% of the job postings in the region.
In Dundee City, the majority of sectors saw an increase in unique job postings compared to December. These included: Agriculture, Environmental & Animal Care (+45.5%); Manufacturing & Production (+13.8%) and Tourism, Leisure & Arts (+13%).

Unique job postings in the North West increased by +11.4% compared to December.
Across the region, Cumbria saw the biggest increase of job postings. These rose by +19.3% compared to the previous month.
In Greater Manchester – where more than half of the job postings in the North West sit – job postings increased by +12.4% compared to December.
The county’s biggest sector, Business, Finance and Legal, increased by +10.2% compared to the previous month. The sector has continued to increase across the whole of the North West.

Unique job postings in the West Midlands increased by +15.8% compared to December.
16 regions across the region saw an increase in job postings compared to the previous month. Of these areas, Wychavon saw particularly significant growth, with an increase of +81.3% unique job postings compared to December.
Birmingham – a notable city for jobs in the West Midlands – saw an increase of +10.8% in job postings compared to the previous month.
The West Midlands followed the national trend and saw a significant increase in Cleaning & Facilities Management related roles (+27.1%) compared to December.

Unique job postings in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire increased by +14% compared to December.
Derby saw a +29.8% increase in job postings compared to the previous month. Sectors which saw significant increase growth in this area were: Business, Finance and Legal (+57.8%); Construction and Labouring (+51.8%); and Public Services and Administrative (+38.7%) compared to December.
In Leeds – where 54% of job postings in West Yorkshire are – job postings increased by 11% compared to the previous month. This brought the total number of job postings in the city to a total of 50,855.

Unique job postings in Wales decreased by a small -0.1% compared to December.
The biggest decrease in unique job postings was in Blaenau Gwent. There was a decline of -57.2% compared to the previous month, a sudden drop after two months of continuous growth.
Cardiff – which holds 27% of the job postings in Wales – saw a -6.1% decrease in job postings compared to December. I.T. related roles in the city decreased by -33.8% compared to the previous month, once again this was a sudden drop.
There were some boroughs in Wales which saw growth in unique job postings during January. These included: Ceredigion (+18.3%), Flintshire (+14.5%), and The Vale of Glamorgan (+14.3%) compared to the previous month.

Unique job postings in regions across Southern England increased by +18.5% compared to December.
Farnborough saw a significant increase in job postings (+47.5%) compared to the previous month.
In Brighton, Warehouse related roles increased by +40.3% compared to December.
Business, Finance and Legal related roles increased in several regions across the south of England compared to the previous month. These include Farnborough (+45.7%), Crawley (+30.8%) and Hove (+30.4%).

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