Labour Market Tracker: 1.8m active job ads suggest “soft landing” likely for labour market

• The number of active postings in February 2024 was 1,873,386, substantially lower than a year ago (2.5m) but still well ahead of the equivalent figure for February 2020 (1.57m).
• There were 810,651 new job postings in February 2024 – a 5.5% fall from the month before.
• In February 2024 four of the top ten counties with the highest postings were in Yorkshire and the Humber. There was a 12.2% increase in active job postings in February 2024 here when compared to January 2024.
• Across the UK, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham (+28.2%), York (+23.8%) and Belfast (22.8%) had the highest growth in job postings when compared to January 2024.

Midway through the first quarter of the year the number of active job postings is settling at around 1.8 million, according to the latest Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and Lightcast Labour Market Tracker. This represents a robust position – but weaker than the trend we have seen over the past three years.

There were more than 1.8m active job postings in the UK, with more than 810,000 new job postings, in February 2024. Continued labour shortages driven by a smaller active workforce, skills shortages in sectors like engineering and fast changes in consumer markets are key drivers of this. The 1.8m active job postings – around the number of people who live in Northern Ireland – is a remarkable position for a time where the economy has been in recession.

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REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said:

“It’s clear that the jobs market has slowed with the economy over the past year, and today’s figures reflect that. But the level of hiring activity is more resilient than would be expected at a time like this, driven by the UK’s tight labour supply, and forward-looking indicators of rising business confidence.

“For companies, this is a timely reminder that hiring is likely to remain challenging, especially as growth picks up. A strong partnership with professional recruiters, using the principles in the REC’s new Aim Hire guide will be essential.

“Governments really need to focus on a workforce strategy that will open up growth and prosperity – yet too many politicians are ducking the issue. Talking about boosting GDP per capita is all very well, but it requires reforms to skills policies, taxation, regulation and infrastructure that have been overlooked in this Parliament. We could unlock £39bn of growth annually just by taking this challenge on.”

Overall, when looking at the government region statistics we can see that the number of active job postings in Scotland grew by 1.2%, whilst this is positive the rate is lower than the UK-wide figure. And six of the bottom ten areas with the lowest growth were in Scotland. This is similar to the previous month and suggests that private sector investment and growth should be a priority for Holyrood this spring.

Occupations with notable increases in adverts in February 2024 include Authors, Writers and Translators (+67.5%), Window Cleaners (+38.1%), and Clothing, Fashion and Accessories Designers (+28.2%).

There was also growing demand for Driving Instructors (+27.4%), Gardeners and Landscape Gardeners (+26.0%) and Data Entry Administrators (+24.9%).

Delivery Drivers and Couriers (-21.6%), Optometrists (23.5%) and Prison Service Officers (Below Principal Officer) (39.6%) all showed the largest decline in roles from January 2024 to February 2024.

Across the UK, North and North East Lincolnshire (18.6%), Wakefield (16.9%) and Hackney and Newham (16.5%) were among the highest growth in job postings when compared to January 2024.

Causeway Coast and Glens (-6.0%), Moray (-7.3%) and Orkney Islands (-28.3%) all accounted for the sharpest decline in job postings.

When looking at the top ten counties/unitary authorities for growth in active job postings, four were based in Yorkshire and Humber.

Ends

Notes to editors:

1.     The Labour Market Tracker is produced by the REC in partnership with Lightcast, using their Job Postings Analytics data which is harvested from tens of thousands of job boards. Data was harvested in February 2024. For more details, see the attached annexes which, in league table format, detail the top and bottom ten county/unitary authorities for growth in job postings and growth by occupation type.

2.     ‘Active’ job postings are those which were live online during the specified time period. ‘New’ job postings are those which were added to the active stock during the specified time period.

3.     The ONS (Office for National Statistics) estimates that the population of Northern Ireland is around 1.9m.

4.     REC and Lightcast switched to analysing monthly data on a permanent basis in January 2024. They had trialled weekly and monthly data in parallel for the final months of 2023, and therefore confident that the data will offer the opportunity for clearer analysis.

The LMT (Labour Market Tracker) has also moved from analysing Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010 to the revised SOC 2020. The main areas of change from the previous classification are:

a.     A review of the classification of roles as professional or associate professional
This means that occupations such as Paramedics, Multimedia Designers, Investment Analysts, and Taxation Experts, which were part of the “Associate Professional or Technical” classification in SOC 2010, have been reclassified as “Professional” occupations in SOC 2020.

b.     The reclassification of occupations associated with information technologies
This means that the growth in IT roles over the last decade or so has now been recognised by the creation of new unit groups such as Cyber Security, Quality and Testing, Networks, Web Design, Database Administrators, and IT Trainers.

c.     Disaggregation into less heterogenous unit groups
This includes the creation of a separate role for Logistics Management; distinguishing General Medical Practitioners from Specialist Medical Practitioners; a breakdown of nursing roles; and more detail on storage and warehouse roles.

d.     Overall, the new SOC 2020 classification system is more granular, with 43 more occupations at the 4-digit level than the 2010 version. This means that the REC can provide better and more up-to-date information, based on both the 43 the new classifications and the reviewed classifications.

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About the REC

The REC is the voice of the recruitment industry, speaking up for great recruiters. We drive standards and empower recruitment businesses to build better futures for great candidates and themselves. We are champions of an industry which is fundamental to the strength of the UK economy.

Find out more about the Recruitment & Employment Confederation at www.rec.uk.com.

About Lightcast

Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass) provides trusted global labour market data, analytics, and expert guidance that empowers communities, corporations, and learning providers to make informed decisions and navigate the increasingly complex world of work. With a database of more than one billion job postings and career profiles, our team provides best-in-class customer service with robust data, clear analysis, and expert guidance on skills, jobs, and opportunities. 

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and Moscow, Idaho, Lightcast is active in more than 30 countries and has offices in the United Kingdom, Italy, New Zealand, and India. The company is backed by global private equity leader KKR. For more, visit www.lightcast.io/uk.

ANNEXES

Top ten and bottom ten county/unitary authorities for growth in job postings:

Top ten and bottom ten occupations by growth in job postings:

Key indicator occupations