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The U.K. saw an increase in demand for every type of role in the last week of February, with the number of active job adverts up more than 40% from a month earlier.
There were around 1.82 million vacancies, according to a survey published Friday by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, with 224,000 new postings appearing in the period.
All occupations saw at least a marginal increase from the previous week, with advertized positions for fitness instructors, traveling salespeople and furniture makers each up more than 20%. There was also greater demand for childminders, perhaps driven by the U.K.'s gradual return to office work.
Record-high vacancies are a sign of a tight labor market that is pushing up wages and concerning policy makers. A number of Bank of England officials this week expressed concern over the risk that inflation becomes embedded, solidifying expectations the central bank will hike interest rates for a third straight meeting later this month.
“Great news for people looking to move on in their careers,” but the “high level of job adverts also reflects the difficulty firms are having in hiring,” said Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC. “The U.K. economy is facing some severe capacity constraints as it recovers, which is contributing to higher inflation.”
However, the report quoted one executive as saying that soaring prices and Russia's invasion of Ukraine could test the willingness of employers to maintain the current pace of hiring.
“With renewed global uncertainty and the huge rise in energy costs we are currently experiencing, the business confidence we have seen over the past few months could well be dented in the coming weeks and months,” said John Gray, vice president, U.K. operations at analytics software firm Emsi Burning Glass. “It will be crucial that we continue to monitor the data for signs of how employers are reacting to this new situation.”
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