2012 – Where the UK jobs were

A mixed year for jobseekers on the whole.

IT was the biggest sector for vacancies in 2012, according to study published by Adzuna, with over 1 million jobs created. Other sectors that have performed well are engineering, healthcare, finance and retail, while pay has risen also for translators.

In terms of location, cities that offer the least jobseekers by vacancy are Aberdeen, Cambridge, Guildford, Reading and Oxford, while the cities with the most number of jobseekers per vacancy are Hull, Sunderland, Southend, Wolverhampton and Bradford.

Not all jobs are created equal. Adzuna reports that 100,000 jobs were created by London 2012, although most of these were temporary. The huge rise in part-time roles plus the “north-south divide” also skews the data.

Trends for 2013 jobseekers

1. Skills are vital

Financial, software and foreign-language skill-sets are generally well-paid. If you have these skills, make sure they are updated where necessary, and prominently mentioned in your applications. Career changers: make upskilling a vital cornerstone of your career planning.

2. Some sectors are healthier than others

Engineering, energy and oil are flagged up in the data, while manufacturing could also see an increase in 2013. Conversely, public sector pay freezes and redundancies make this a tougher area to break into.

3. Permanent positions will be harder to come by

The explosion of part-time work does little to mask the dearth of permanent positions. Consider juggling more than one job at a time, or combine telecommuting or freelance work with part-time roles, for example. Learn how to present serial roles coherently in your CVs and cover letters.

Photo credit: daniel moyle