.jpg "UK Job Vacancies Hit 5-Year Low, Graduate Posts at Record Low")
Job vacancies, including those for graduate jobs, have reached their lowest levels in five years as January saw a slowdown in hiring activity throughout the UK.
Data retrieved from the online job board Adzuna revealed that the number of jobs advertised in January was 694,940, which is a 3.05 percent decrease from December.
This is the lowest number of job vacancies since January 2021 and a continuation of the downward trend that has been seen since last year.
The number of graduate jobs has also decreased by 19.1 percent, resulting in the first time there were fewer than 10,000 graduate jobs since April 2016 when Adzuna began tracking this data.
According to Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, "The market is still tough, with fewer vacancies and therefore more competition, but the fact that wages are continuing to grow means that companies are prepared to pay for the right skills."
The average salary in January 2021, £43,289 (S$74,016), was 5.98 percent higher than January 2021, compared to the Bank of England's forecast of 3.25 percent stable wage growth.
These discoveries continue to raise alarms over the declining UK employee market with regards to young adults specifically. Overall, the UK's unemployment rate has increased from 4.7 percent to 5.2 percent over this half year period, causing concern for decision-makers of the Bank of England.
Also Read: Emmanuel Macron Urges PM Modi to Ban Social Media for Under-15s
Analysts of the employment market have identified increases in minimum wage, increases in payroll taxes and the proposed changes to labor law protections as three probable contributing factors to these developments.
Also Read: Five Iconic European Brands that Shape Everyday Life Worldwide
Additionally, the introduction of an increasing number of AI based technologies have eliminated many new jobs (i.e., orders) that would be considered entry level positions by 4.46 percent in January.
Also Read: Exploring Germany's AI Innovation: 5 Startups Leading the Way
Economists believe that the increasing development of AI and business capital investment will ultimately provide a rebound to the declining productivity of the UK which has contributed to the slower rate of GDP growth since the late 90’s (according to the Boston Consulting Group).