Fewer manufacturing vacancies on offer but professionals are keen to change jobs

1 min read

According to the latest data from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, manufacturing is one of the most competitive industries to find a job in right now, as applications to new roles rose by 4.1% last month. This is in spite of newly advertised vacancies decreasing by 3.3%.

The data, which compared findings from May 2019 with the same period last year, also found that average pay for new roles in the automotive industry jumped up by 2.2%, bringing the average salary to £29,977 per annum.

Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library commented: “It’s unfortunate that increased interest in manufacturing roles has coincided with an overall difficult time for the industry. The ‘triple threat’ from Brexit has paralysed all production, which is directly affecting the amount of people that manufacturing businesses can employ.

“However, it is positive to see that the job market and candidate interest have remained resilient to what can only be described as political upheaval. It just goes to show how steadfast and reputable the UK’s manufacturing industry really is. For now, a ‘quality over quantity’ approach to hiring, where employers have been offering higher salaries for less jobs, is sensible.”

Alongside this, the findings reveal that candidate registrations were up by 13.7% in the past month. This suggests that manufacturing professionals are feeling confident about their prospects right now.

Biggins continues: “Manufacturing employers have been busy increasing their salary offerings and this is being well received by manufacturing employers. Applications are up and candidate registrations are even stronger. Although Brexit will undoubtedly have a big impact on jobs, it can’t be a worse outcome than the prolonged uncertainty we’ve suffered so far. For now, employers should continue with their recruitment efforts as usual, especially given the rise in job hunters looking for work.”