The latest job market data for the UK retail industry has shown a continuing decline in job vacancies last month due to the coronavirus crisis, plummeting by almost 80 per cent.
According to data from CV-Library, job vacancies plummeted by 79.7 per cent in the retail sector in April on a month-on-month basis.
Year-on-year, retail job numbers nose dived by 78.5 per cent.
“We’re trying to support UK businesses as much as possible right now, but everyone is feeling the financial effects of the current crisis,” CV-Library founder Lee Biggins said.
“Thousands of companies have put a pause on their hiring plans until there’s more certainty in the market and the pandemic is having an impact on all sorts of industries – most notably the retail sector.
“All we can do now is prepare for the recovery and hope that business confidence picks up over the next few months when lockdown restrictions eventually ease.
“Unfortunately, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel at this stage, especially as we move into the thick of the spring/summer period, which tends to be quieter for hiring anyway.”
Despite more Brits being out of work or placed on furlough in April, CV-Library’s data shows that retail job application numbers also dropped significantly last month – down 28.1 per cent month-on-month and down 47.6 per cent year-on-year.
In addition to these findings, the online jobs site found that the application to job ratio increased by 253.4 per cent in the retail industry in April, compared to the previous month.
This means there is more competition among candidates for the roles available, with an average of 37.02 applications per retail role last month, as opposed to just 10.47 in March.
“Unfortunately, organisations have had to make some tough decisions over the past six weeks, with ONS figures revealing that two thirds of businesses have placed staff on furlough,” Biggins said.
“While these professionals might not be actively looking for work right now, especially at a time when there’s so much uncertainty, we do expect application figures to pick up in the coming months and clearly there is already increased competition for jobs.”
