New data from leading recruiter Acorn Recruitment has revealed that there was a 50% year on year increase in people applying for temporary jobs in July and August this year.
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On average, 4.7 people applied for each temporary post available through Acorn Recruitment between July 1st and August 26th 2019, compared with 3.2 people in the same period in 2018 and 3 people in 2017. That’s an increase of 59% between 2019 and 2017.
There were more summer jobs in manufacturing nationally in 2019, whereas in 2017 construction topped the temp summer jobs chart. Interestingly, in 2017 there was also a big demand for temporary staff for the engineering sector, but that wasn’t the case in 2019 as it didn’t feature in the top five sectors in demand.
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However, the number of applicants per job in the construction sector was more than twice that of 2017.
In 2019, the top sectors for applicants per post were:
- Administration (5.5 applicants per job on average)
- Fast Moving Consumer Goods (4.9 applicants per job on average)
- Manufacturing and Production (4.3 applicants per job on average)
- Logistics (3.75 applicants per job on average)
- Building and Construction (2.5 applicants per job on average)
Compared with these sectors in 2017:
- Administration and secretarial (5.6 applicants per job on average)
- Fast Moving Consumer Goods (3.9 applicants per job on average
- Engineering (3.3 applicants per job on average)
- Manufacturing and Production (2.8 applicants per job on average)
- Building and Construction (1.2 applicants per job on average)
In areas where Acorn saw most activity, in the North* an average of 6.8 people applied for each temporary post with Acorn in the summer of 2019, compared with 5.3 in 2018 and 5.2 people in 2017- a rise of 31% of people going for every job.
The South West also saw an increase of 39% in the number of applicants between 2019 and 2017 – with an average of 3.55 people going for each temporary job opening in 2019, 1.83 in 2018 and 2.55 people in 2017.
Marc Jones, Director of Operations at Acorn Recruitment said: “Traditionally July and August are seen as slightly quieter months, when we see demand slowing down and fewer people actively looking for work. The figures show that despite concerns among employers about availability of people there is still an appetite among some temporary workers to switch between temporary jobs and change employers.
Marc added: “While the data acknowledges little growth in the labour market itself, there remains significant movement in the market as candidates continue to look for the next opportunity.”
