Competition for jobs reaches a two-year low, new research report reveals

There were 1.55 job seekers competing for each advertised vacancy in the UK in February 2014, 35% lower than in February 2013, a recent market research report has revealed.

Figures obtained from the latest UK Job Market Report released by Adzuna suggest that the number of advertised vacancies has also increased by 19%, from 675,594 in February 2013 up to 800,614 in February 2014, the biggest annual pick-up in eight months.

Unfortunately, while job competition has eased up, advertised salaries fell 4.4% year-on-year in February.

Salaries in the North of the country are showing the strongest signs of recovery. Advertised salaries grew year-on-year in the North West (+2%) and Scotland (+2%) in February, and were stable in the North East (+0%), but slipped significantly in the South (-6% in London, -4% in the South East, -5.3% in East Anglia).

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, explains: "More jobs are popping up all over the UK as employers gear up for a busy spring, and as a result, competition between candidates is easing. In many parts of the country there are now more jobs advertised than jobseekers, and top talent is becoming harder to source.

"Adzuna real-time data shows vacancies are continuing to pick-up into March, and could top 850,000 by the end of the month. If this trend continues, it will push the balance of the labour market further into the hands of jobseekers, allowing them to be more selective in their job hunt, and giving them more power to negotiate on salaries," he added.

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