The UK jobs market remains in rude health and growing steadily, despite dire warnings of torrid times ahead for job seekers and fears of a triple-dip recession.
Defying the doom and gloom merchants, the UK jobs market is up a third compared to 2010 after three years of steady growth, according to Reed Jobs Index, the monthly tracker of UK job opportunities. New job opportunities in January improved 3% on December and were 12% healthier compared with this time last year.
The social care, education and health and medicine sectors were the standout performers across a generally positive field. A similar upbeat picture was found around the regions, with the North East topping the table with 30% rise in job opportunities compared with last year. An encouraging 11 out of 12 regions grew both monthly and annually.
The rosy outlook in opportunities was not matched in salaries, however, which remained flat over the last 12 months.
James Reed, chairman of Reed said: “Throughout the downturn a number of commentators have been predicting a torrid time for the UK jobs market but, five years later, they have all been proved profoundly wrong.”
He added: “Even if the statistics confirm a triple-dip recession in the UK, the growing capacity in the labour market suggests that business confidence is returning and any recession is unlikely to be long-lasting.”
