Considering a new career in the capital? It’s time to stop putting it off…
When looking at all regions across the UK, research points to the fact that workers in London have been among the most impacted by the pandemic.
Of the 813,000 decrease in payrolled employees since March 2020, data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) indicates that 223,000 of those can be attributed to employees living in London. That’s around 27% of all those that have lost their jobs since the start of the pandemic.
However, with businesses starting to return to work as lockdown restrictions begin to ease, we’re seeing positive signs of recovery throughout the capital – something which should hopefully continue throughout the summer, and beyond.
Here are just three reasons why now is the perfect time to find a job in London:
London is opening back up
Our recent research* suggests that almost a fifth (19%) of Londoners have been waiting for lockdown to end before looking for a new job.
With many facing uncertainty over their job security, this cautious approach was completely understandable. Especially when we were in the midst of the pandemic, with COVID-19 cases continuing to rise.
However, since the start of the year there have been a number of positive developments – from the rise in the number of vaccines administered, to the overall drop in the daily number of COVID-19 cases.
With lockdown being eased over the last few months, hospitality businesses such as pubs, restaurants and hotels being able to open their doors once more, and the final set of restrictions being lifted on June 21st, now’s the perfect time to get yourself back out there to beat the summer rush.
Job numbers are booming
If you’re looking for further proof that things are getting back to normal, take a look at the job numbers.
Nearly 30,000 jobs in London were added to reed.co.uk in April: a 170% increase on the same period last year. May has continued this positive trend, with a 156% year-on-year increase in jobs posted in the first 10 days of May alone.
The tourism and hospitality sectors in particular are showing some great signs of recovery. Hospitality and catering jobs in the capital more than doubled (189%) in April compared to the month before – demonstrating the positive impact that outdoor hospitality venues reopening had on the industry. Tourism jobs also saw a 26% month-on-month rise.
And with more than 240,000 jobs live on reed.co.uk right now, the highest number since the pandemic began, there are definitely reasons to be optimistic about careers in 2021. Especially if you live in London.
Some of the UK’s top companies are hiring
Over one in five (22%) of those we surveyed believed that companies haven’t been hiring during lockdown.
Whilst that isn’t strictly true, many companies did pause their recruitment – having to remain cautious whilst the pandemic was at its highest.
However, with many companies being able to reopen over the last few months, and many more looking to return to the workplace throughout the coming weeks, recruitment is ramping up for a number of the country’s biggest names.
Some of the top companies hiring in London right now include the likes of Aldi, Deloitte, haart, Mind, NHS, Ticketmaster and many more. So if you were waiting for a sign businesses are back in the market to hire top talent in every industry, this is it.
The top companies hiring in London
How to find jobs in London
Finding your perfect opportunity in London couldn’t be simpler.
You can search the site for the latest London jobs, use our mobile app to look for roles on-the-go, and even sign up for job alerts – which will notify you as soon as any new roles come up in your industry and area. So you’ll never have to worry about missing out on a good job again.
Finally, we’ll be welcoming Londoners back to the capital over the coming weeks as part of our brand new brand campaign. So if you’re out and about in London and looking for work, you’ll have a handy reminder on-hand to start your search.
No. More. Excuses.
Looking for work in London? View all available jobs in London now.
*Online survey of 2,001 adults aged 18-64 in the UK who are either employed (full- or part-time), furloughed or unemployed. Survey conducted in January 2021 by Atomik Research on behalf of reed.co.uk
