Hiring starts to pick up in retail industry as lockdown eases

Hiring has started to pick back up in the retail industry last month, with job vacancies advertised increasing by an impressive 27.1% month-on-month, according to the latest data from CV Library.

The study looks at job market data throughout May and compares this with figures from the previous month (April 2020) and year (May 2019), to build an understanding of how the UK labour market is really fairing right now.

It found that despite the improvement in employer confidence, applications for jobs in the retail sector fell by 13.3% month-on-month and a further 51.6% year-on-year. What’s more, when looking at year-on-year data, the findings show that job vacancies are 82.8% lower than a year ago.

The data also shows that competition for the retail jobs that are available right now is “intensifying”. The number of applications per vacancy has increased 181.4% year-on-year with an average of 25 applications per job.

Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV Library, said: “The retail industry will definitely be one of the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. And, while some establishments will start opening their doors in the coming weeks, it’s clear that lockdown is having a profound effect on employers.

“The wider market is starting to show signs of recovery, however there’s still a long way to go and we cannot expect figures to return to normal overnight. Especially when businesses are under a lot of financial pressure.”

He added: “The fact that there are less jobs being advertised than normal, and more professionals entering the job market, means competition for jobs is already beginning to intensify.

“This will put employers in a favourable position as the labour market continues to shift, but it’s important for companies across the industry to think seriously about their recruitment and retention efforts; especially when the furlough scheme does eventually come to an end.”