New job postings across the UK rose by 4.2% in March from the month before to a total of 848,004, according to the latest Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and Lightcast Labour Market Tracker.

Overall, the number of active postings in March 2024 was 1,908,641, up 1.1% compared to February 2024, and suggesting a gentle rise in hiring activity since the winter. It is also a further sign of steady growth in demand for labour, especially as the change was led by new postings, rather than older postings staying online.

Occupations with notable increases in adverts in March 2024 include collector salespersons and credit agents (40.0%) (who visit private households to obtain orders and collect payments for goods and services), air transport operatives (26.2%) and mining and quarry workers and related operatives (22.7%).

There was also growing demand for tool makers, tool fitters and markers-out (22.0%).

Childminders (-25.4%), quality control and planning engineers (-35.3%) and prison service officers (below principal officer) (-37.3%) all showed the largest decline in roles from February 2024 to March 2024. This is the second consecutive month where job postings for prison service officers have been in the bottom ten occupations.

Across the UK, Na h-Eileanan Siar in the Outer Hebrides (25.5%), Causeway Coast and Glens in Northern Ireland (24.6%) and West Dunbartonshire in Scotland (14.7%) had among the highest growth in job postings when compared to February 2024.

Luton (-8.3%), Wakefield (-9.5%) and Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham (-10.2%) all accounted for the sharpest declines in job postings.

Scottish and Northern Irish counties dominate the top ten regions with the highest percentage of growth. Most of the top ten counties were based in Scotland and the remaining four were based in Northern Ireland. After a few months of sluggish growth, overall Scotland posted the highest growth of all government regions (7.0%).

REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said, “Over the past few weeks, we are starting to see some signs of firms gearing up for growth. The first indication of this in the labour market is this rise in job adverts. It will take time for this to feed through to higher placement levels, especially as recruiters report longer decision-making processes from hiring businesses right now. And we shouldn’t get carried away, as activity is still well below last year’s levels at this point, but further declines in labour market activity now seem less likely, especially as inflation and pay awards are normalising.”