Job outlook in the UK for 2020

The UK offers several career opportunities in various fields and many of them are high-paying as well. In March 2020 there was a record high of 35.83 million jobs in the country which was 35,000 more than the jobs available in December 2019.

The UK government releases the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) which lists the jobs that are facing a skill shortage in the country. It basically lists the skilled roles where there is no local talent available and migrants are needed.

The occupations in the shortage occupation list are recommended by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).

This list is updated regularly by keeping track of the skill shortages in the workforce. UK employers are exempt from conducting a Resident Labor Market Test (RLMT) for migrant candidates who apply for these jobs.

Based on the SOL these are the top ten sectors facing a skill shortage in the UK:

1. Finance Sector (Management Consultants, Actuaries, Economists and Statisticians)
2. Directors and CEOs
3. Secondary school teachers
4. Software
5. Graphic Design
6. Chefs, Cooks
7. Nurses
8. Social Workers
9. Mechanical Engineers
10. Welding trades

The majority growth in employment is projected to be in professional services, transportation and storage and wholesale and retail trade over the period up to 2030. Sales employees, skilled laborers, and office management staff are expected to be the fastest-growing occupations. Such work vacancies may require high or medium-level qualifications.

Job outlook post the Coronavirus pandemic

However, with the Coronavirus pandemic, the job outlook in the UK has changed.

For instance, the growth in employment in hospitality, transportation and business services has fallen while job outlook in healthcare and public administration however remain high.

Prior to the pandemic, the sector with the largest job outlook was wholesale and retail trade with an estimated 4.97 million jobs, the next largest sector was healthcare and social work with 4.48 million jobs in March 2020.

Three months after the pandemic began in March, the sector showing the highest increase in the number of jobs in the healthcare sector with 2.7 vacancies per 100 employee jobs.

The wholesale and retail trade sector has seen a decline in the number of jobs in the past three months with the closure of non-essential retail establishments to follow social distancing rules.

Companies here are slowing down their recruiting process after the outbreak of a pandemic but the government's attempts to boost the economy have made them hopeful.

The government is making efforts to help workers retain jobs and are providing companies with financial assistance, particularly those sectors that are directly impacted by the pandemic.

This has made companies and overseas job seekers in the UK optimistic.

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