UK Labour Market Insights | January 2023

Trends across the UK

Unique job postings decreased by –6.6% in December compared to the previous month. This downward trend was seen across England (-6%), Scotland (-12.2%) and Wales (-9.1%).
The Warehousing sector saw the largest decrease in unique job postings (-14.1%) compared to November.
However, some sectors saw growth in unique listings during December. These included: Protective Services (+7.3%), Cleaning & Facilities Management (+6.8%) and Agriculture, Environment & Animal Care (+1.6%).
The Institute for Employability Studies suggested the long period of growing inactivity through the pandemic may be ending. REC said this is good news for people entering the labour market and for economic growth.
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Unique job postings in London decreased by -7.8% compared to November. The significant decrease left the capital with less job postings than the start of 2022.
The sector which saw the biggest decrease during December across the capital was Warehousing, unique job postings fell by -13% compared to the previous month.
Other sectors also saw significant decreases compared to November, these included IT (-12.6%); and Transport, Logistics and Supply Chain. (-9.7%)
However, there was some growth in a specific sector across South and East London. Tourism, Leisure and Arts roles increased in some boroughs compared to the previous month: Bexley (+62.5%), Barking and Dagenham (+60%), and Merton (+46.2%).

Unique job postings in regions in Scotland have steadily declined during the last two quarters of 2022, and this trend continued in December. Listings drastically fell by –12.2% compared to the previous month.
The decrease in job postings in Lanarkshire and Tayside was slightly lower than the average in the country this month. They fell by -8.8%, compared to November.
Within Lanarkshire and Tayside, the majority of sectors saw significant decreases in unique job postings during December compared to the previous month. These included: Warehousing (-18.1%), Customer Service (-17.6%) and Catering and Hospitality (-15.3%)

Unique job postings in the North West decreased by -5.4% compared to November. Despite this decrease, the region ended 2022 with more job postings than it had at the start.
Greater Manchester – which has over half of the job postings in the North West – saw a decrease of -5.8%. The region had a significant decrease of job postings in Warehousing (-14.6%) compared to the previous month.
Meanwhile, a variety of sectors across the North West grew in December. Cleaning and Facilities Management (+14%), Protective Services (+10.9%) and Agricultural, Environmental and Animal Care (+5.9%) job listings increased compared to November.

Unique job postings in the West Midlands decreased by -6.9% compared to the previous month. This means the region’s job listings were lower than this time last year.
In Birmingham – which has 44% of jobs in the West Midlands – job postings decreased by -7.8%. The city saw a decrease in postings in a particularly prominent sector – IT related roles fell by -18.1% compared to November.
Despite the general decrease trend, some sectors and regions saw growth during December compared to the previous month. Cleaning and Facilities Management in Redditch (+38.8%); Construction and Labouring in Malvern Hills (+21.2%) and Warehousing in Wyre (+19.1%).

Unique job postings decreased in the regions by –4% compared to November. Overall, the job postings figure in this area was higher than the start of 2022.
Cleaning and Facilities Management related roles increased by +11.2% compared to the previous month, following a trend which appeared across England.
We’ve also seen another national trend appear in this region. The Warehousing sector saw a general decrease of –13.7% compared to November. Notably, Nottinghamshire saw a significant decrease of –28% within this sector, compared to the previous month.

Unique job postings in Wales decreased by -9.1% compared to November. Job postings are now at a similar level to the number of listings at the start of 2022.
The steepest decrease in December was in Gwynedd, where unique job postings fell by -20.6% compared to November.
Cardiff had the second biggest decrease of job postings in December with -17.1% less than the previous month. The city offers 28% of the job postings in Wales.
The IT sector, one of the most prominent sectors in the capital, saw unique job postings decreased by –31.9% compared to November.

Unique job postings in the Southern regions of England fell by –5.4% compared to November. Despite the year ending with a considerable drop in listings, the regions still collectively have 30% more job postings compared to the start of 2022.
Amongst the sectors, Warehousing saw the biggest decrease in unique job postings, with –15.6% less than November. This was followed by Sales and Marketing with -12.2% decrease in job postings.
Following a trend we’ve seen across England, Cleaning and Facilities Management related roles increased. Unique job postings increased by +11.5% compared to November.

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