According to specialist retail site RetailChoice.com, there are as many as 33 applicants for a single retail job in Glasgow. The number of retail jobs in this area of the country fell by a quarter last year, leading to some areas having 33 applications per vacancy in the sector, according to this new study.
Research by job site RetailChoice.com found that 3,500 fewer management posts were advertised compared with the same time last year and that fashion firms were badly hit by the economic downturn, with a 21 per cent decline in jobs. However the news was not all bad with an increase in e-commerce posts.
Glasgow had the toughest competition for retail jobs, with 33 applications per vacancy, followed by 30 in Liverpool, while the lowest odds were in Hertfordshire and North London, with 10 per vacancy. Relocating is not always easy butfor those seeking a career in fashion retail, analysing job vacancies by location can help increase the odds of success.
Overall, looking country-wide DIY retail roles rose higher than in any other sub-sector of retail, according to an analysis of 29,000 adverts place on the RetailChoice.com website in the period. DIY roles rose 31% compared to the same period in the previous year across the country, while supermarket and department store roles rose 11% and 10% respectively, demonstrating that the news isn’t all bad.
Management jobs have dropped by 13% and fashion roles decreased by 14%, reducing fashion recruitment demand during the analysed period. An area with significant increased demand was online and digital retail, which has been attracting new talent pools as online offerings evolve, as previously reported by Recruiter. An average of 16.7 applications were made for each job across the whole sector.
Neil Brodie, commercial director at RetailChoice.com, said: “Unsurprisingly, the continued rise in the use of smartphones, tablets and more significantly, the rapid growth of retail apps has led to retailers needing more specialists in technology and e-commerce.”
In you are one of the specialist retail recruitment agencies dealing with these types of roles or if you would like more information about our study, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us: