London sees job vacancies leap by 52% in one year

London has seen a sharp rise in job openings and applications as the labour market gets back on track after the summer.

The summer months are normally a quiet period in the job market, as employers and job-hunters alike take time off and August in particular sees a lull in recruitment activity. As new figures from CV Library show, in London the labour market is back on track now that autumn has arrived.

Across the London area the number of jobs posted or renewed rose by 20 per cent in September from the previous month, indicating that either more staff are moving to new jobs or business activity is picking up to prompt rising demand.

But the really surprising statistic is the rate at which growth has continued over the past year – vacancies posted in the capital rocketed by 52 per cent compared to September 2013.

Applications are also increasing as many staff make the decision to focus their job search efforts after the summer. However, it seems that many committed job-hunters were looking for new roles across the quieter months – applications rose by just six per cent from August to September.

It’s well known that London is streaks ahead of the rest of the UK in terms of business and employment activity, but it appears that the regions are also seeing employment growth.

A separate study published on 14 October by the Resolution Foundation showed that the capital does indeed have the strongest recent employment record.

Not only does London have an employment rate that is now 2.3 per cent higher than it was before the recession – equivalent to around 90,000 jobs – but it managed to close the “jobs gap” between pre and post-recession employment levels in November 2013, before anywhere else in the UK.

However, other regions are performing strongly – some of the sharpest increases in employment have taken place in the north-east of England. In the past six years it has actually grown at as strong a rate as the east of England, meaning the two regions tie for second place behind the capital.

The north-east began the recession with one of the lowest employment rates in the UK, so it’s working from a lower base. But its impressive growth places it among just five of the 12 regions where employment rates now surpass their pre-recession peak. Alongside London and the east of England, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber have also achieved that feat.

There’s more work to be done across the UK, but the situation is definitely getting better.