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Job vacancies in north-east see sharp decline


By Kyle Ritchie

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New research has found that seven months after the nationwide lockdown was imposed job vacancies have failed to return to pre-Covid levels.

The study by the Centre for Cities think tank and global job site Indeed revealed that the Aberdeen area recorded the steepest fall with a 75 per cent year-on-year decline.

This was followed by Edinburgh (-57 per cent); Belfast; and the West Sussex town, Crawley (both -55 per cent). Overall UK vacancies are -46 per cent behind last year’s level.

Job vacancies in the north-east area have dropped steeply.
Job vacancies in the north-east area have dropped steeply.

The stuttering jobs recovery is closely linked to the collapse in local service jobs. These are roles that involve selling directly to local consumers, including sectors like food, retail, arts and leisure, which are exposed to Covid-related restrictions.

The rise in people working from home has dried up demand for local services in communities

Public sector jobs have been relatively sheltered from the crisis compared to private sector ones.

Centre for Cities’ chief executive Andrew Carter said: “While unemployment continues to rise, the number of jobs available to people who find themselves out of work is far below its level last year in every single large city and town in the UK.

"This could have potentially catastrophic long-term consequences for people and the economy.

“The Government has told us to expect a tough winter and, while local lockdowns are necessary to protect lives, it is vital that ministers continue to listen and reassess the level of support given to help people and places to cope with the months ahead.

“The Chancellor made welcome amendments to the Job Support Scheme which should help save jobs, but many places across the country didn’t have enough jobs before the pandemic hit so creating more will be vital to prevent long-term economic damage to their local economies.”


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