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Dorset labour market insights October / November 2020

Latest insights into Dorset's labour market 

October saw job vacancies in Dorset increasing for a sixth consecutive month and the number of workers on furlough leave falling significantly, just before the second lockdown in November reversed these trends.

Open the dashboard below to explore latest labour market developments. Read our Labour market insights commentary, which includes key local and national trends. All our insights should be read in conjunction with the Understanding LMI during COVID-19 guidance on issues related to interpreting these labour market statistics.

Key national findings:

  • To support the recovery and drive economic growth, the Spending Review focused on programmes to improve the skills pipeline, levelling up productivity and supporting people to work including apprenticeships and reskilling incentives.

  • Speed of recovery will depend on solving the skills mismatch between those looking for jobs and the sectors with vacancies, according to the Bank of England.

  • A labour market mapping tool has been released by Nesta to facilitate transitioning between sectors and reskilling by identifying roles with similar sets of tasks.

  • Research shows employers’ confidence in making hiring and investment decisions fell, as did actual investment.

Key findings for Dorset include:

  • Furloughed workers significantly decreased - from 34% to 8% of eligible employments

There were 25,300 furloughed employees in Dorset in September - 87,100 less than in July. What happened to people after furlough? National analysis found that 90% of employees who left the CJRS between April and July (3.9m people) were still on their original payroll in August, suggesting the majority remained working for their original employer.

  • There were 6064 job vacancies in Dorset in October

Dorset’s labour market is performing slightly better after the first lockdown (it is 18ppt down since 23 March) compared to the UK average (of 20ppt down). Vacancies in October reached their pre-crisis levels and marked a six-month strike of continuous increase and the second month in a row since March to exceed last year’s levels. However, this trend was interrupted with the second lockdown in November.

  • K (shaped) recovery

Growth continued to be uneven, split between sectors. Labour demand improved in professional, scientific and technical activities, construction, retail, finance and ICT while vacancies in arts, entertainment, accommodation and food services are barely at 55% of their 2019 levels and around a quarter of the eligible staff are furloughed nationally.

  • The ratio of claimants per vacancy fell to 4 in October (which is in line with national figures).

  • The recruiting employers in October matched the pre-pandemic profile

  • While public sector employers overtook recruitment in the previous months of the pandemic October was the first month when J.P. Morgan and Bournemouth University joined NHS at the top of the employer charts. Online vacancy levels for residential care companies were also strong, while engineering saw a mixed picture.