We regularly update this report to track the pandemic’s effects on the labour market. 

Job postings growth continues, though the pace eased last week. Job postings — a real-time measure of labour market activity — were 7.3% above the 1 February, 2020, pre-pandemic baseline, seasonally adjusted, as of 18 June, 2021. That was a 0.8 percentage point (ppt) gain from the previous week, the smallest since early April. It comes amid a delay to the final stage of reopening to 19 July, which maintains restrictions particularly on the hospitality sector.  

A line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed UK”
A line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed UK” showing the percentage change in job postings on Indeed UK since 01 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 18 Jun 2021. There was a 7.3% change in UK job postings on Indeed from 01 Feb 2020 to 18 Jun 2021.

Growth in cleaning, hospitality & tourism and retail 

The strongest improvement during the latest fortnight was in cleaning & sanitation, followed by hospitality & tourism and retail. Social science, physicians & surgeons and chemical engineering saw the biggest deteriorations.

The food preparation & service category has been ramping up strongly in recent months amid the reopening of pubs and restaurants. However, in the very latest week (11 June to 18 June) it failed to record an improvement in the job postings trend for the first time since February. 

Table titled “Cleaning, hospitality & tourism and retail on the rise.”
Table titled “Cleaning, hospitality & tourism and retail on the rise.” Indeed compared the percent change in UK job postings, between 01 February, 2020, and 18 Jun 2021 across various sectors divided into sections “strongest performers,” and “weakest performers.” The strongest performers were the cleaning & sanitation, hospitality & tourism and retail sectors, while the weakest performers were social science, physicians & surgeons and chemical engineering.

North East remains strongest performing region

The North East continues to lead the regional rankings, followed by Wales. Northern Ireland, London and the South East are the only regions where job postings still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. 

Bar graph titled “Job postings on Indeed UK.”
Bar graph titled “Job postings on Indeed UK.” This bar graph shows the percentage change in job postings on Indeed UK since 01 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 18 Jun 2021. The North East saw a 30% change, the largest, while Northern Ireland saw the lowest % change at -8%.

Middlesbrough has strongest job postings recovery

At the cities and large towns level, manufacturing and distribution hubs in the North of England and the Midlands continue to see the strongest job posting recoveries, led by Hull, Middlesbrough and Barnsley. 

Places with particularly high exposure to hard-hit sectors continue to see the weakest job posting recoveries, notably Aberdeen (oil and gas) and Crawley (aviation). 

Table titled “Hull leads job postings recovery.”
Table titled “Hull leads job postings recovery.” This bar graph shows the percentage change in job postings on Indeed UK since 01 Feb 2020, seasonally adjusted, to 18 Jun 2021. Hull saw a 47% change, the largest, while Aberdeen saw the lowest % change at -42%.

Methodology

All figures in this blogpost are the percentage change in seasonally-adjusted job postings since 1 February, 2020, using a seven-day trailing average. 1 February, 2020, is our pre-pandemic baseline. We seasonally adjust each series based on historical patterns in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Each series, including the national trend, occupational sectors, and sub-national geographies, is seasonally adjusted separately. We adopted this new methodology in January 2021. 

The number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed, which comprises a significant percentage of the HR Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for information purposes only and should not be viewed as an indicator of performance of Indeed or Recruit. Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR Technology segment.