UK Graduate Labour Market

• In the week to 2 January 2022, overall retail footfall in the UK was 75% of the level seen in the equivalent week of 2019. This is lower than the previous week where overall retail footfall was at 86% of the equivalent week of 2019.
• The total volume of online job adverts on 31 December 2021 was at 121% of its February 2020 average level, a 4% decrease from the previous week. The highest level of job adverts relative to February 2020 continued to be in the 'transport, logistics and warehouse' category, at 260%.
• All major graduate recruitment categories remain significantly above their levels this time last year, but a number have dipped back below pre-pandemic levels, with law at the lowest, at 69% of pre-pandemic vacancies. London as a city is now back below pre-pandemic levels of vacancies as well, albeit only marginally. Some of this may be seasonal.
• In late December 2021, 15% of businesses reported a shortage of workers, which has remained broadly stable since late October 2021 (this rose to 35% for businesses with 10 or more employees). The percentage was highest in the accommodation and food service activities industry at 37%, and 65% of these businesses reported employees were working increased hours because of these worker shortages, compared with 38% and 55%, respectively, in late October 2021
• 2.3% of businesses in the UK expect to make redundancies in the next 12 months.
• 31.4% of workers were working from home or in a hybrid mode in the two weeks to 12 December. This rises to 83.9% of IT workers. 1.3% of workers were absent due to COVID.
• The biggest increase in graduate vacancies in 2022 is set to be in the built environment sector (48% growth), the energy, engineering & industry (41% growth), and the health & pharmaceuticals sector (37% growth). The only industry to experience a reduction in graduate vacancies is the charity and public sector (11% dip). The only sector that is yet to reach pre-pandemic levels is the retail and FMCG sector currently 3% below graduate hires in 2019.

Find out more information here - https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/uk-graduate-labour-market-update-11-january