Job market growth was particularly strong in some of the UK’s key cities

2017 has already been marked by a lot of change in the UK, especially now Brexit negotiations are firmly underway. As such, it is extremely positive to see that the job market has continued to go from strength to strength. The latest data from CV-Library finds that job applications, vacancies and average salaries all saw impressive growth in the first quarter of the year.

In fact, CV-Library’s Q1 job market report, which compared data from Q1 2017 with Q4 2016 and Q1 2016, finds that job applications saw a very impressive quarterly increase of 28.8 per cent. And while this was to be expected, given that January is traditionally one of the busiest times in the recruitment calendar, applications also rose by 3.3 per cent when compared to this time last year, clearly showing that candidate appetite is improving despite underlying uncertainty in the UK.

Furthermore, growth was particularly strong in some of the UK’s key cities, with Bristol (39 per cent), Cardiff (37 per cent) and Birmingham (36.4 per cent) experiencing the sharpest increase in job applications, as well as some of the nation’s key industries: manufacturing (up 45.5 per cent), automotive (up 39.2 per cent) and construction (up 38.3 per cent).

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments, ‘It is fantastic to see the UK job market not only holding its own, but also expanding throughout the first quarter of the year. It is particularly promising to see a huge number of candidates in the UK actively looking for their next career challenge, and with salaries seeing an impressive rise, the financial benefits of making a career move are clear to see.’

In fact, average advertised salaries experienced positive growth, leading industries in the UK see strong salary increases when compared to the last quarter. The telecoms (8.7 per cent), manufacturing (5.5 per cent) and sales (3.4 per cent) sectors experienced the largest increases, while nationwide, average salaries saw an increase of 1.3 per cent year-on-year and 2.4 per cent when compared to the previous quarter.

In addition to this, total job vacancies have seen similarly encouraging growth, increasing by 14.5 per cent when compared to the last quarter. Furthermore, when compared to year-on-year stats, the total number of advertised vacancies in the UK job market rose by 15.4 per cent, highlighting the strong expansion aims of UK businesses, with job hunters more than happy to oblige.

Biggins concludes, ‘The first quarter of the year has proved to be a successful time for candidates and companies alike. With a huge number of candidates looking for a new job, businesses should have a very deep talent pool to choose from when it comes to filling a vacancy. Likewise, candidates will reap the benefits of more jobs on offer and very strong advertised salaries, as companies look to ensure they remain competitive.

‘2017 will inevitably bring a range of challenges to the job market, with the likes of Brexit, the ‘gig’ economy and worker automation constantly under the spot-light. However it is very promising to see the core job market strengthening and expanding throughout this period.’

Further reading on the UK job market

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