Two Yorkshire cities see ‘staggering’ increase in job vacancies

Sheffield saw a 26 per cent increase in job numbers last month, whilst Hull vacancies rose 20 per cent. Sheffield and Hull saw the second and third biggest increase in job vacancies in the UK, following only Leicester, which saw a 28 per cent increase. Leeds was in eighth place with a 5 per cent increase in vacancies.

CV-Library said application rates are also beginning to “soar”, as competition for jobs intensifies.

The study looked at job market data throughout May and compared this with figures from the previous month (April 2020) and year (May 2019), to build an understanding of how the UK labour market is really fairing right now.

The firm said the biggest job booms were in the North and Midlands. Liverpool was in fourth place with a 12 per cent increase in vacancies, Manchester was in fifth with a 9 per cent increase and Edinburgh was in sixth with an 8 per cent rise.

In seventh place was Birmingham with a 6 per cent increase, followed by Leeds in eight place, London in ninth place with a 4 per cent increase and Newcastle in tenth place with a 3 per cent rise.

Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, said: “As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, the market is starting to show signs of recovery and it’s promising to see job numbers picking back up across Sheffield and Hull.

“While this will be welcome news to eager job hunters, there’s still a long way to go and we cannot expect figures to return to normal overnight. Especially when businesses are under a lot of financial pressure - hence the stagnation in pay.”

Despite these reassuring figures, CV-Library said it is important to note that when looking at year-on-year data, overall job numbers were down by 66 per cent in Sheffield, 59 per cent in Hull and 74 per cent in Leeds.

Leeds salaries rose 9 per cent year-on-year, Sheffield salaries rose 5 per cent and Hull salaries were up just 0.5 per cent.

Mr Biggins said: “While applications may be down overall, the fact that there are less jobs being advertised than normal, and more professionals entering the job market, means competition for jobs is already beginning to intensify in these Yorkshire cities.

"This means that if you are looking for a job right now, you need to work really hard in order to stand out. Take your time with every application and tailor your CV and cover letter so they match the job specification and demonstrate why you’re the right fit for the role.

"Unfortunately, it’s going to take some time for the market to fully recover, so that extra effort can make a real difference.”

CV-Library is one of the UK’s largest online job sites and attracts over 4.3 million unique job seekers every month. Founded by Lee Biggins in 2000, the firm said it is the UK’s leading independent online job board with a database of over 15 million CVs.