The job market is still a mixed picture. The good news is that secretarial jobs increased by 5% last month on the previous one, according to new figures from recruiters Totaljobs. However, compared to the same period last year, the number of jobs posted has fallen by 15%, while the number of applications has remained pretty much the same.
As a result, the competition for places remains extremely high, with an average of 42 applications for every job. This makes the secretarial sector the most competitive market in the UK.
According to Nick Goldstein, sales manager at Totaljobs, this ambivalent situation is due to the post-election climate. ‘Businesses have been waiting to see how the new coalition Government plays out.
‘Recently, more positive economic forecasts have given employers the confidence to recruit more widely.’ However, this buoyancy is more than matched by the large labour pool. ‘We’ve had existing jobseekers joined by new entrants into the market.’
The biggest demand is for temporary workers. ‘Jobseekers are coming to understand that flexibility is important,’ says Goldstein. ‘In difficult times, people must be willing to take short-term contracts and maybe travel further to their office.’
Totaljobs’ statistics suggest that the administrative sector is, nevertheless, healthier than many other markets. According to the latest report on jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG, growth of staff appointments to permanent and temporary positions has slowed to the weakest rate in seven months.
Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, says: ‘The latest data shows a worrying deceleration in the UK jobs market. Although the number of placements has continued to increase, the rate of expansion has hit a seven-month low. Private sector job creation has not hit the buffers, but it’s clearly slowing, which heightens concerns over whether or not public sector job losses can be absorbed.’
The strongest sector in the report was IT, while the weakest were the caring professions such as nursing and medicine.