Struggling to find a job? These are the UK’s most in-demand roles

The UK employment market is incredibly competitive right now, with 68,000 fewer vacancies available since December, despite unemployment rising by 166,000 over the same period.

This is far from welcome news if you’re looking for a new job, as more people will be vying for each role – and some of them will receive hundreds of applications.

There are a few industries, however, where workers are in especially high demand, meaning less opposition and a greater chance you’ll be hired.

According to research by Indeed, nurses are like gold dust at the moment, accounting for 6.9% of CV searches from recruiters.

Meanwhile, care work, particularly for the elderly or for people with a disability, features high on the list, with support workers (2.4%) and care assistants (1.6%) also being sought out by employers.

The skill shortage within healthcare is likely due to a mix of a struggling NHS and an ageing population, neither of which are likely to change any time soon.

But there are downsides to working in this field. Although it might be easier to find a job as a nurse or carer, these occupations have some of the highest rates of sickness absence (particularly due to anxiety, stress, depression or other psychiatric illnesses) in the country, while starting salaries range between £14,000 and £28,000 per year – far below the national average of £35,464.

If that doesn’t sound like your bag, next up on Indeed’s ranking of in-demand jobs was sales, which racked up 3.8% of CV searches. This is a fairly broad spectrum, but if you have the gift of the gab and don’t mind earning your commission, Reed estimates that roles in sales can pay as much as £160,000 a year.

Also on the list were chefs, customer service staff and teaching assistants, along with trades like mechanic and electrician and one professional role: accounting.

Commenting on the findings, Indeed’s senior economist Jack Kennedy said: ‘It’s no surprise that healthcare roles feature in the most in-demand roles, given the struggles the NHS continues to face in attracting and retaining staff. 

‘These trends in employer searches are also reinforced by the UK’s post-Brexit migration policy which prioritises the higher-skilled end of the labour market. Because of this, worker shortages in lower-paid sectors are likely to remain a feature of the labour market for some time to come.’

What have the UK’s political parties promised to help boost employment?

Ahead of a General Election on July 4, politicians are fighting it out to win the public’s vote.

One key issue this time round is the economy, which encompasses employment rates, taxation and benefits among other things. And with a cost of living crisis forcing Brits to tighten our belts, each party will be looking to show us they can ease the strain.

When it comes to Labour, the top line is that they can ‘deliver economic stability with tough spending rules’. Alongside no rise in income tax or National Insurance for at least five years, Keir Starmer’s party has promised a cap on corporation tax in an effort to encourage business growth.

Further Labour policies relating to employment also include a pledge to ban ‘exploitative zero hours contracts’ and end ‘fire and rehire’ apart from in ‘exceptional circumstances’, recruit 8,500 new NHS mental health staff and 13,000 additional police and community officers, and set up a public sector energy firm.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have pledged to create a ‘long-term workforce plan’ and replace some ‘rip-off’ university courses in England with 100,000 apprenticeships per year.

Yet the Tories’ most talked-about employment policy is likely that they’d bring back national service for 18-year-olds if they were re-elected, whereby teenagers could choose between paid year-long military service or 25 days of voluntary work in the community.

No party has officially released its manifesto so far, though, so we’ll have to wait and see how their plans could affect our daily grind.

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