​​​​​The number of job adverts in the UK has been steadily growing since the beginning of 2022, as the Omicron wave receded and hiring activity ramped up. According to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)’s new Labour Market Tracker, there were 224,000 new adverts posted in the week of 21-27 February – the highest weekly figure since early December.

As a result, the total number of active job postings has continued to rise through January and February, following the normal seasonal drop in late December. Last week there were roughly 1.82 million job adverts live in the UK, 8.6% higher than in the previous week.

• In the last week of February there were around 1.82 million active job adverts in the UK – up by 8.6% from the previous week and by 41.5% from a month earlier
• There were around 224,000 new job postings in the last week of February, the highest since early December
• All occupation groups across the UK recorded at least a marginal increase in active job postings from the previous week
• The biggest weekly growth in adverts was for fitness instructors, travelling salespeople and furniture makers
• Eight out of the UK’s top ten hiring hotspots were in Northern Ireland last week, led by Newry, Mourne and Down
• There were only three local areas which experienced falls in job adverts – East Dunbartonshire, Na h-Eileanan Siar, and Causeway Coast and Glens