The ten most popular industries for jobseekers right now
New online search data has revealed the most popular industries for job-seeking professionals, producing rankings from 55m user sessions.
The figures were pulled by job site CV-Library in January 2018, providing an overview of Britain’s labour market and which industries are in greatest demand among jobseekers.
Most revealingly, the highest number of searches emerged from construction and engineering, clocking up 779,179 and 660,858 respectively.
The demand for jobs in both sectors followed the collapse of construction giant Carillion last month. It was reported that 20,000 jobs could be cut throughout the firm’s supply chain, with the survival of thousands of small firms in doubt.
- Construction — 779,179 searches
- Engineering — 660,858 searches
- Administration — 490,741 searches
- Manufacturing — 342,882 searches
- Driving — 321,069 searches
- Education — 244,342 searches
- Finance — 212,880 searches
- Social care — 203,262 searches
- Sales — 198,928 searches
- Customer service — 197,071 searches
Noting the vast number of searches for construction and engineering positions, Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, confirmed the impact of the Carillion insolvency.
He explained: “The country has been devastated by the liquidation of Carillion and there’s a clear link between this and the fact that job searches in construction and engineering have soared.”
The rankings followed recent data showing a surge in candidate applications at the start of 2018. In January, application rates increased by an average 83.6 per cent nationwide, with certain cities seeing over 90 per cent growth.
With candidate appetite for new opportunities rising rapidly, job postings rose by a more modest 38 per cent, suggesting a competitive environment for jobseekers.
Biggins added: “It’s positive to see that candidate appetite is strong across some of the UK’s core sectors, particularly as these are industries that play a vital role in the nation’s economy.
“What’s more, these findings are great news for organisations in these industries, many of which continue to battle ongoing skills shortages. It’s clear that there are an abundance of fantastic opportunities for the nation’s job hunters right now, with last month’s data revealing that businesses have made a confident start to the year.”
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About the Author
Simon Caldwell is a reporter for Business Advice. He has a BA in politics and communications from the University of Liverpool, and previously worked as a content editor in the ecommerce industry.
