New data* shows job seekers’ interest in vacancies has increased in the last three months, but recruiters are having to invest more and refocus budgets to find the best talent amidst a skills crisis.

The company reports that ad clicks increased by 21% between July and September. The data also shows that spending on sponsored jobs adverts has steadily increased, up 83% between July and September, which suggests this growing engagement with applicants is coming at a financial cost for businesses. The fact that the data indicates efforts made by recruiters is increasing faster than the demand of candidates, suggests there is great competition to recruit talent throughout the market.

Transportation, healthcare and hospitality
Across sectors, the data shows the hospitality arena has seen one of the greatest spikes in investment. The investment being channelled into finding the right candidates has seen a significant spike from March to September 2021, up a staggering 1,060%. This is indicative of the recruitment struggles facing the sector in a post-Brexit and Covid-hit environment, with staff switching industries during the uncertainty of the last year and non-UK talent returning home following the UK’s exit from the EU.

The effort and investment required to attract candidates across transportation has doubled since early 2021 and is up 136% between February and September 2021. This is perhaps unsurprising given the shortage of HGV drivers the UK is experiencing.

Meanwhile, following a spike in demand and offers in February, the Healthcare sector has seen a drop in the number of candidates actively clicking on adverts and is now down 49% from February to September, highlighting the increased shortage of workers in the field.

A Noura Dadzie – VP Sales UK & International Markets at Talent.com – explains, while investment is needed to find the right candidates in today’s market, where these budgets are channelled will be a key driver of success:

“At a time when skills shortages have reached a critical point across the UK, many hiring managers are pumping investment into recruitment activity in the hope that this will be enough to give them an edge over the competition. However, as competition for talent intensifies it really is crucial that recruitment budgets are strategically directed if businesses are to benefit from any tangible return on this investment. When talent is so thin on the ground, only the most tactical approaches will assist in attracting the top candidates.”

“We are increasingly having conversations with hirers who are moving funds into sophisticated tech tools to help them look outside of the usual channels to find talent, which is perhaps the reason why financial spend has increased. The rise of job aggregators and programmatic platforms, for example, is one area that more businesses are budgeting additional finances for to streamline their hiring. For those that are facing an increase in recruitment budgets, looking at where else this investment can be channelled strategically rather than throwing more money at the same problem should certainly be a priority.”

*Data from Talent.com