UK Jobs - Mixed News for Jobseekers Considering Public Sector Job Losses

LONDON, August 4, 2010 - Totaljobs.com has Reported an Increase in Job Vacancies Posted, However
in Some Sectors Competition is Fierce With up to 26 Applications per Job

Totaljobs.com have released their first Totaljobs Barometer report since
the General Election and it makes for some interesting reading. Since the
Coalition came to power there has been a 6.5% increase in the number of jobs
posted between the 1st and 2nd Quarter of 2010.

This indicates that employers have a more positive outlook, and the
private sector is set for growth, which is very encouraging for the economy.
However, with each job vacancy receiving an average of over 11 applications,
jobseekers are facing some tough times ahead as unemployment is set to
increase through the year due to public sector cuts.

The BCC recently announced that the rate of unemployment has actually
fallen and although unemployment will rise from 2.51 million to a peak of
2.65 million (8.4% of the workforce) in the first quarter of 2011, many areas
in the private sector still look buoyant.

Jobseekers who can transfer their skills to a new sector or who can
easily relocate will have a better chance of obtaining the job they want.
Sectors that have seen a significant increase in job vacancies include
catering and hospitality (+11.8%) and customer services (+15.0%). In
contrast, sectors to have suffered between quarters include social services
(-10.7%) and health/nursing (-22.5%). However the Coalition Government has
indicated that they will be focusing on developing Britain's manufacturing
industry and it is hoped that this will result in opportunities opening up in
sciences and engineering.

Regional jobs figures from the Totaljobs Barometer also show some
interesting trends in job supply and demand. The West Midlands, for example,
has seen an 8.5% increase in regional jobs posted, but the number of
applications remains at 9 per job. This is also reflected in competition for
jobs in London which remains at an all time high of 32 applications per job.

The North East and North West jobs market also show they have more to
offer than just public sector jobs. Finally, bouncing back after a 16% fall
in posted jobs in Q4 2009, the job market in Scotland is showing the first
signs of improvement, with 7 applications per job, down from 8 applications
per job in Q1 2010.

About Totaljobs.com

www.totaljobs.com is one of the UK's leading jobs & recruitment
websites, attracting over 2.8 million jobseekers every month on the hunt for
one of 90,000 live vacancies the site carries at any one time. All of this
activity generates over 1.5 million applications a month, cementing
totaljobs.com's strong reputation among recruiters and jobseekers alike.
Thousands of recruiters from multinationals to smaller regionally based
businesses, recruitment consultants and advertising agencies recruit through
totaljobs.com. More data from the Barometer is available at
www.totaljobsbarometer.co.uk/

For further information, please contact: Caterina Masso (Marketing
Manager), on email caterina.masso@totaljobs.com or call +44(0)20-7572-4207

For further information, please contact: Caterina Masso (Marketing Manager), on email caterina.masso at totaljobs.com or call +44(0)20-7572-4207