April saw more vacancies than jobseekers in 32 of the top 50 UK cities, suggesting that large numbers of UK workers don’t have the skills to fill the positions required in the modern workforce, according to the latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna.co.uk. 

The number of jobseekers decreased to fewer than 800,000 for the first time since the recession, to stand at just 795,967 in April, compared to 1,142,340 a year ago. 

However, at the same time, the number of advertised vacancies in the UK has soared past the million-mark to reach a new post-recession record of 1,033,435 available positions in April. This is a 25.6% year-on-year increase on the 823,081 vacancies advertised in the same month last year and a 2.7% increase on the 1,019,488 vacancies recorded in March. 

The simultaneous fall in jobseekers and rise in vacancies has translated into a new record low in competition for jobs, with just 0.77 jobseekers per advertised vacancy in April, down from 0.81 in March and almost half of the 1.39 recorded in April 2014. 

This falling ratio of jobseekers to advertised vacancies held true across 32 of the top 50 UK cities, suggesting that three in five cities are struggling to fill positions – most likely due to a skill shortage.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, commented: “The number of jobseekers is falling while advertised vacancies are ballooning. This could be a warning sign that our workforce lacks the skills necessary to fill up many of the new jobs appearing. The recovery certainly has the capacity to progress further and faster – but at the moment there’s a disconnect between our abilities and our economic climate. It’s like standing outside your recently fixed up car, tuned up and ready to go, only to realise you’ve lost the keys.” 

“If we’re going to get behind the wheel of this recovery, we need to unlock the potential of our workforce, with more emphasis on the diversity of available jobs if only people are aware of them and willing to train themselves. This change could be led by the government, but part of it is a culture-shift. We have the recovery we deserve – now we need to build a workforce capable of taking advantage of it.”

Job vacancies are on the rise in skilled work in April as positions are created more quickly than the workforce is able to fill them. The increase is particularly apparent in the Maintenance sector, with a 38% increase in advertised vacancies. In absolute terms, the 28% increase in Trade & Construction positions translates to over 11,000 more vacancies advertised in the sector than in April 2014.

Mr Hunter continued: “Our position in the EU is clearly vital to help fill these key roles and keep the economy moving. We have a lot to learn about the movement of labour from the current setup. The referendum isn’t the only legislation on the horizon: [Chancellor] George Osborne’s plans to devolve power to Northern cities could see a major boost to infrastructure in key job areas.”

“Not only would this provide skilled trade jobs in the short-term, it would also make it easier for our skilled workforce to move around the UK, making it to the areas where they’re most needed. But even in the best possible outcome, ease of access to the ‘Northern powerhouse’ isn’t going to make up for the skilled labour lost by a possible break with the EU.”

Salaries continued to increase across the UK, with an average salary increase of 6.5% to £34,274 compared with April 2014.