Read the full Birmingham Economic Review 2024.
The labour market is constantly evolving, influenced by economic conditions, technological advancements, and changes in societal needs. To better navigate this landscape, it’s essential to examine labour demand and skills trends.
This blog delves into job vacancy trends in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull (GBS) area, using data from Adzuna to explore key insights into regional and national job market dynamics.
Job Vacancy Trends in GBS: A Regional Snapshot
From January 21 to July 21, 2024, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull area recorded 176,613 unique job postings, representing 3.2% of the total UK job demand of 5.46 million. The data reveals that the region’s job market, although slightly shrinking, remains diverse and varied. The top ten job categories in the GBS area accounted for a significant 75% of all vacancies, underscoring key sectors that continue to drive employment opportunities despite the broader economic challenges.
Teaching emerged as the highest-ranking job category, despite a year-over-year (YoY) decline of 11.5%. Other notable sectors included engineering, sales, accounting, IT, and healthcare. However, job postings in the GBS area dropped by 24.8% compared to the same period in 2023, with the most significant declines observed in IT (-38.4%), administration jobs (-37.9%), trade and construction (-32.8%), and healthcare and nursing (-30.8%).
Interestingly, while the GBS area’s job market saw a 24.8% reduction, the national decline in job openings (-26.0%) outpaced the regional downturn. The IT sector, in particular, saw the steepest decline, reflecting a broader hesitancy in hiring driven by economic uncertainties stemming from a mild recession, inflation, and rising energy costs throughout 2022 and 2023.
Sector-Specific Insights: Demand vs. Interest
An analysis of sector-specific demand shows notable variations in hiring patterns across different industries. Fields such as “trade & vehicle repair,” “health & social work,” “professional & scientific activities,” and “accommodation & food services” exhibited above-average demand compared to the region’s overall job market. However, the data also highlighted certain industries with high demand but relatively low interest levels, suggesting a potential mismatch between labour supply and demand. Sectors like “professional & scientific activities” and “public admin & social security” exhibit high demand but comparatively lower interest, indicating a shortage of skilled professionals in these areas.
The construction industry, with a location quotient of 1.5, stands out as having 50% more concentrated job postings in GBS than the UK average. Public admin and social security also share this high location quotient. In contrast, industries such as manufacturing and electricity & gas supply have lower concentrations of job postings, indicating that these sectors are less prominent in the GBS area compared to national trends.
Time to Fill Vacancies: Sector Variations
The time it takes to fill job postings also varies significantly by industry. Some sectors require more time due to the complexity of roles or a shortage of specific skills. For example, vacancies in “water supply & waste management” and “finance & insurance” take the longest to fill, with median times of 47 and 34 days, respectively. On the other hand, “public admin & social security” roles are filled relatively quickly, with a median time of 27 days. These variations underscore the importance of sector-specific recruitment strategies and skill development initiatives.
Remote and Flexible Work: A Growing Trend
The ongoing shift towards remote and flexible working arrangements is another key trend in the GBS area. While 80% of job postings in the region were for non-remote positions, 15% offered flexible work options, and 5% were entirely remote. Sectors such as “electricity & gas supply,” “finance & insurance,” and “professional & scientific activities” are leading the way in offering flexible work arrangements, with 58%, 38%, and 38% of postings, respectively, providing such options.
This shift towards more adaptable work environments reflects the growing demand for work-life balance, as well as the increasing availability of digital tools that allow for greater flexibility in where and when work is completed. These trends present an opportunity for employers to adopt more progressive workplace policies to attract and retain top talent.
Evolving Skill Requirements: What Employers Want
As the job market evolves, so too do the skills required to succeed. An analysis of the skills most in demand in the GBS area reveals some interesting shifts. Communication skills, for instance, appear in 36.8% of online job postings, showing their growing importance. Management skills also remain highly valued, featured in 27.4% of postings. Meanwhile, technical and interpersonal skills, such as engineering and customer service, also saw slight increases in demand.
These shifts reflect the broader demands of the modern job market, which increasingly values both interpersonal and technical abilities. For job seekers, this suggests that honing a blend of soft skills (e.g., communication, management) and hard skills (e.g., engineering, IT) can increase employability and career advancement opportunities.
Salary Trends and Gender Pay Gaps
Salary data across different industries in the GBS area reveals significant disparities, with “electricity & gas supply” offering the highest average salary at £49,011, followed by “information & communication” at £41,201. Notably, the gender pay gap remains a concern, with industries like real estate, finance, and construction exhibiting the highest gaps in pay between men and women. Real estate, for example, has a gender pay gap of 33.9%, while finance and insurance and construction follow closely behind with 27.2% and 24.8%, respectively.
Interestingly, the water supply and waste management sector is the only industry where women earn more than men, with a reverse pay gap of -9.9%. These disparities highlight the ongoing need for gender equality initiatives and equal career progression opportunities for women in higher-paying industries.
Educational Requirements: A Growing Demand for Degree-Level Qualifications
Finally, the GBS job market also shows a clear trend towards higher educational requirements. Industries like “finance & insurance,” “education,” and “professional & scientific activities” have the highest proportion of job postings that require at least a degree-level qualification, with percentages ranging from 71.8% to 77.7%. On the other hand, sectors such as “trade & vehicle repair” and “real estate” have lower shares of degree-level qualifications, highlighting the diverse educational demands across industries.
Conclusion: Navigating the Shifting Job Market
In conclusion, the job market in Greater Birmingham and Solihull is characterized by a mix of demand for high-skilled professionals in certain sectors and challenges related to labour shortages in others. Job seekers should focus on high-demand sectors like education, healthcare, and professional services, while employers can enhance their recruitment efforts by offering flexible work options and addressing skill shortages. Policymakers, meanwhile, should continue to support workforce training and education to ensure that local talent is equipped to meet the evolving needs of the economy.
The GBS job market’s trends provide valuable insights into the future of employment in the region, underscoring the importance of adaptability, skills development, and equitable career opportunities. By paying attention to these factors, both job seekers and employers can thrive in an increasingly dynamic labour market.
Read the full Birmingham Economic Review 2024.
This blog was written by Anne Green, Professor of Regional Economic Development and Co-Director and Kostas Kollydas, Research Fellow, City-REDI, University of Birmingham.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this analysis post are those of the authors and not necessarily those of City-REDI or the University of Birmingham.