According to the latest quarterly job market report from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, job applications in the construction sector grew by 44.5% in Q3 2020 and by 21.2% year-on-year.
The report looks at job market data throughout Q3 2020 and compares this with findings from the previous year. It reveals that the construction sector, alongside the following industries, saw the highest growth in applications quarter-on-quarter:
- Administration (up 90.2%)
- Recruitment (up 85.5%)
- Marketing (up 78.6%)
- Sales (up 77.7%)
- Telecoms (up 74.6%)
- Legal (up 61.5%)
- Finance (up 58.6%)
- Education (up 51.5%)
- Electronics (up 46.9%)
- Construction (up 44.5%)
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library comments: “It’s no surprise that there are more candidates on the market given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the state of our economy. While the circumstances around this influx of talent are unfortunate, it provides a great opportunity for businesses in the construction industry to snag top talent.”
The data also reveals that the number of job postings has increased by 213.4% between Q2 and Q3 2020. However, the number of roles advertised between July and September is still 19.2% lower than at the start of the year.
What’s more, as vacancies continued to rise during Q3, the number of applications per vacancy dropped by 53.9%. However, this is still 85.5% higher than during the same period last year.
Biggins continues: “This data clearly shows that the construction industry has started to recover from the national lockdown in March, but it still has a long way to go. However, it’s likely that this new found confidence may be short lived.
“The uncertainty surrounding future government restrictions, as well as those put in place last week will force businesses to put a freeze on their hiring plans. Sadly, this will coincide with the end of the original Job Retention Scheme, which may spell bad news for professionals.
“That said, if you’re planning on hiring this quarter, you’re likely to have your pick of the best candidates on the market. However, be sure to approach your hiring process with sensitivity as this will be a particularly difficult time for job seekers.”
