Photographer, farmer and plasterer job ads rise

The first week of August saw 1.7m active job ads in the UK, new research has found.

Job ads for photographers and broadcasting equipment operators saw the largest rise, up 19% on last week, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).

Demand for insurance underwriters is up 15.5%, while new roles for agricultural staff rose by nearly 10%.

The spike comes in the three weeks since Covid restrictions were lifted.

Job ads for plasterers are also up by 8%, while adverts for decorators are up by 4.7%.

The REC also found that the last three weeks have seen the highest numbers of new job postings since mid-May.

But job adverts were down for playworkers by over 20%, while ads for teaching and educational professionals declined by 14.7%.

Four out of the UK's top ten hiring hotspots were in North West England, while four out of the bottom ten local areas for growth in active job postings were in Scotland.

The highest growth in the first week of August was Blackpool with over 5%, closely followed by West Dunbartonshire, the Wirral and Norwich and East Norfolk.

The job advert data was analysed between 26 July and 8 August 2021.

Active job advert postings for nurses saw no change during this period.

Kate Shoesmith, deputy chief executive of the REC said that employers are "desperate" to find "good staff to help them recover and grow in the coming months".

"Recruiters are working flat out to help find the best people but there are shortages of workers in almost every sector across the country," she explained.

While she said that this is "starting to translate" into higher pay and better benefits for some workers in particular sectors, she added that employers also need "more support from government", including a more flexible immigration system and an "effective, long-term plan on skills."

"We mustn't overlook the thousands of workers who need a chance to skill up and improve their earnings but this alone won't meet demand," she added.