Manufacturing, Construction and Transportation are among the steepest drops in job postings. Shrinking sectors and growing skills gap likely to continue to threaten future jobs growth.

Despite a strong gain in employment in recent months, earnings growth has continued on a downward trend registering only a disappointing 1.9 % yearly increase. Additionally, today Indeed reveals that Manufacturing, Construction and Transportation sectors recorded the steepest drops in job postings in the UK in the last three months. Low oil prices, a collapse in the price of steel, the strength of the pound and growing competition from China are contributory factors in this decline. In fact, a spotlight was shone on Manufacturing last month when significant job cuts were announced from two of Britain’s biggest steel producers. Indeed’s own job data shows that in Q4 2015, Transportation job postings were down 23%, Construction down 16% while Manufacturing dropped 9%. 

Mariano Mamertino, economic research analyst at Indeed, commented: “These are worrying times for some of the UK’s most important industries. While on the one hand we have a steady flow of full time roles in the UK market, on the other we see worrying declines in job postings in traditional sectors such as manufacturing, construction and transportation.  We are likely to see more disruption in the labour market in the coming years from commodity price shifts, right through to offshoring, skills gaps and automation.  

“These shifts are not unique to the UK but part of the global labour story. In the years to come we will continue seeing workers being displaced from declining industries and macro-economic factors. The good news is that businesses can benefit from times of great change – for example by investing in workplace training and re-skilling displaced workers, employers can plug the skills gap and address talent mismatches within their own industries,” Mamertino added