VACANCYSOFT Business Intelligence through Vacancy Data Regional Trends Report South East 1
Contents 3 Overview 4 Analysis by Sector and Company Size 5 Analysis by Profession 6 Analysis by Geography 7 About APSCo 8 About Vacancysoft About the Data Every day Vacancysoft monitors careers centres on thousands of company web sites, and gathers links where there is change. These links are then classified automatically, and in the case of relevant content, by Vacancysoft staff. Our final data set for this report contains information on 19 vacancies. The vacancies were all advertised within the South East region (following NUTS1 rules), and we initially found the vacancies between March 214 and February 216. Excluded from the data are vacancies from companies that were new to Vacancysoft in that period, and those for which we were not able to produce a consistent data set. We also excluded vacancies in professions that we have not continually tracked. This allows like-for-like comparison. We are delighted to be partnering with Vacancysoft to provide new, regional insight on activity in the professional recruitment sector. This monthly report series presents a regional analysis of vacancy activity in the over the last two years, identifying key market trends. The series covers five regions across the UK. I hope you find this new research of interest. Roger Tweedy Director of Communications & Research APSCo 2
Overview London aside, the South East is traditionally England s busiest region in terms of professional vacancy numbers. While this is mostly fueled by the London-centric economy and demographics, in the past year a lot of the activity poured into regional cities relatively distant from the metropolitan area. Vacancy growth periods in the past 24 months were similarly spaced within calendar years, recurring in January, June-July and October. Most recently, however, vacancy trends contradicted the seasonality patterns from previous years by steadily rising in February. Vacancy Volumes in South East England in the past 24 months Vacancy volumes 1 1 8 6 4 Vacancies in Different Company Sizes in South East England in the past 24 months 214 215 215 216 The February vacancy increase occurred primarily in the largest companies, those with over 5, employees. We observed many new vacancies posted in smaller companies in December and January, while their February increase was proportionately smaller. Organizations in both size categories are nevertheless on a hiring spree, which we expect to continue into March given behavior in previous years. Vacancies in 5+ companies 8 7 6 5 4 3 1 214 215 215 216 18 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Vacancies in 1-5 companies The busiest sectors in the South East were telecommunications and, each with almost twice as many vacancies as any other sector and together accounting for a third of all roles in the region. The legal sector appears among the top ten with 5% of all vacancies. This is unusual in our data as normally we expect this proportion to be lower. We can therefore conclude that the South East market has a higher saturation of law firms than other regions. Companies with Headcount over 5 Companies with Headcount up to 5 Vacancies by Sector Telecommunications Insurance Pharmaceuticals Banking Law Technology Hardware & Equipment Accountancy Consulting Clinical Research Organisations Other 3
Analysis by Sector and Company Size In early 214, the telecoms sector was offering more vacancies than any other, and remained the busiest sector until mid-215. After June it decreased to less than half of its 214 volumes, with only a brief surge in October. January 216 was the lowest point for telecoms recruitment in the last two years. However, an increase in activity occurred in February, and future analyses will tell if this will continue into March. Top Three Sectors in South East England in the past 24 months Vacancy volumes 25 15 1 5 For most of 215, vacancies in behaved quite differently than telecoms, with one seemingly filling the void after the other s decrease. The most recent activity aligns with this, with steep, consistent growth in occurring since November while telecoms roles decreased. The sector is currently the busiest in the region, with significantly more vacancies advertised in February in than in any other sector. A breakdown by company size reveals that major telecoms companies are the largest players in the region. companies of all sizes had high vacancy volumes and led the way among companies with headcounts below 5,. Clinical Research Organisations experienced the sharpest growth of all the major sectors in the South East. This can be narrowed down to hotspots in Reading and Marlow, where 67% of all CRO vacancies were advertised. While in absolute numbers they represent a smaller sector than the market leaders, their steep growth pattern makes them stand out in comparison to overall trends. Top Sectors 5+ Companies TELECOMMUNICATIONS PHARMACEUTICALS 51-5 Companies INSURANCE LAW Top Sectors in SMEs LAW ADVERTISING, DIGAL & MEDIA AGENCIES Telecommunications CRO vs Overall Trendlines 214 215 215 216 5 1 15 25 3 Number of Vacancies 4 6 Number of Vacancies For SMEs we included companies with headcount between 1 and 5 CRO VACANCIES 45 4 35 3 25 2 15 1 5 Insurance 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Number of Vacancies 1 1 8 6 4 35 8 1 SOUTH EAST OVERALL VACANCIES 214 215 215 216 Clinical Research Organisations South East 4
Analysis by Profession Top 8 Professions Over a third (34%) of all vacancies in our data were for professionals, a proportion that was persistent over the entire analyzed period. In second and third place, sales and marketing specialists together covered 27% of roles. Although roles accounted for the most vacancies, a higher proportional change was observed in both sales and marketing. By comparison, much more hiring is now occurring in HR,, Marketing and Sales than between the two years. Between yearly and recent change in trends, marketing vacancies did not significantly slow down and increase in demand for sales roles actually sped up. The past year brought a surge in demand for science and HR roles, with the former growing by over 5% in number of advertised vacancies. This trend plummeted as fewer scientific roles were published in 216 so far than in the traditionally quiet months of November and December last year. Year-to-Year Trends in Top Professions Change between Mar 214-Feb 215 and Mar 215-Feb 216 SCIENTIST PROFESSIONAL SALES KETER/PR ACCOUNTANT SCIENTIST HR PROFESSIONAL HR PROFESSIONAL BANKER LAWYER OTHER Vacancies for specialists showed moderate but consistent growth patterns. The proportional increase in demand was not as pronounced as in sales roles due to s higher initial vacancy volume. KETER/PR PROFESSIONAL SALES ACCOUNTANT 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% Short-Term Trends in Top Professions Change between Nov-Dec 215 and Jan-Feb 216 SALES KETER/PR PROFESSIONAL HR PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANT SCIENTIST -5% 5% 1% 15% 2% 25% 3% 5
Analysis by Geography Most advertised vacancies were in areas directly west and south of London. The top area was Berkshire with more than twice as many vacancies as any other county in the region. Berkshire s individual hotspots, Reading and Newbury, each contributed more roles than any other county save Surrey. Vacancy by County/Unitary Authority 7183 Telecoms vacancies accounted for 38% of all Berkshire roles, compared to 17% at regional level. The county s other busy sectors included, with a 9% larger share of the market than regionally, and CROs, with 3% more vacancies. Recently, the number of vacancies has been steadily decreasing in Newbury, which was the region s top city in our data, and growing in Reading, the regions top city since last June. In February 216, Milton Keynes jumped into second place. This is closely associated with sector-related trends, as Newbury s top sector is telecoms, while and CROs account for over half of all Reading-based vacancies. 5 Vacancy by City Reading Guildford Milton Keynes Among the five fastest growing cities, only Maidenhead is in either of the top two counties. It was the South East s large city with the most new vacancies and it grew by close to 7% between late 215 and early 216. Other hot cities include Eastleigh (6% recent increase in our data) and Hook (48%). Together with 44% growth in Southampton, the Hampshire area is rapidly increasing its number of professional vacancies offered. A lot of this change has been in telecoms (44% recent growth) and insurance (15%). Newbury Fastest Growing South East Cities Between Nov-Dec 215 and Jan-Feb 216 SOUTHAMPTON Bracknell Maidenhead Oxford Brighton Crawley Eastleigh Southampton Reigate Hook Basingstoke Maidstone Other HOOK EASTLEIGH HENLEY-ON-THAMES MAIDENHEAD 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 6
The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) was formed to give all firms involved in the recruitment of professional talent that have a commitment to excellence, the specialist support and distinctive voice they need to be successful. It gives candidates and employers a trusted badge of quality whilst providing member firms with an innovative range of services designed for them by recruitment experts. These services, combined with its growing international profile, commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and opportunities for professional networking give APSCo members a unique opportunity to develop their businesses and gain competitive advantage. The distinctive voice of the professional recruitment sector Expert support and events designed by recruitment experts Recognised as a trusted badge of quality An international profile with offices in London, Manchester, Frankfurt and Singapore Representing members we respect in a profession we understand London Manchester Singapore 11 Borough High Street London SE1 1NL Tel: +44 () 8458 997 388 Fax: +44 () 8458 997 389 82 King Street Manchester M2 4WQ Tel: +44 () 1928 89 9 7 North Canal Road Singapore Tel: +(65) 6536 9495 7
About Us Launched in 6, we provide Business Intelligence through Vacancy Data on subscription. We publish vacancy data daily, tailored to your needs, so you can be informed of client activity. Primarily used by recruiters, our service enables consultants to have a rapid response when Organizations post jobs thus facilitating Business Development and Client Management. Our data sets are also used by Executive Search, Consulting Firms, Business Services and Strategy Managers to facilitate a more client centric approach. For more information about us please contact James Chaplin by email: james.chaplin@vacancysoft.com Free Trial On a daily basis we monitor over 5, companies for change. We configure an account for you with filters matching your needs. (So you decide which roles, sectors, locations you want to be kept informed about) You start getting daily emails from us with all relevant vacancy data. You also get an access to our online database, enabling you to search all activity in the market meeting your needs. After you decide which data packages you want our unit based pricing means so you only pay for what you find adds value. To set up your free trial today contact: support@vacancysoft.com Vacancysoft LLP is a limited liability partnership.registered in England and Wales. Partnership no. OC327354. Registered office: Vicarage House, 58-6 Kensington Church St, London, W8 4DB VAT: GB 886 1961 74 8