Job vacancies in the UK have dropped to their lowest level in nearly four years.
The last quarter saw a 42,000 fall to total 761,000 vacancies across the country, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed, a 34th consecutive quarterly decline.
ONS reported that the unemployment rate increased to 4.5% in the period between January and March, with 2.1 unemployed per vacancy.
Manufacturing, transport and storage as well as public and defence were among the 18 industry sectors monitored in the report.
The largest percentage decrease in vacancies was in the construction sector at 26.7%.
Thomas Harris has been searching for a job for seven months after working multiple hospitality jobs post graduating from university with a degree in Biology.
Harris has been spending the majority of his spare time researching roles and applying for work and feels disheartened by the current job market.
He said: “In all honesty, it has made me feel extremely hopeless about the entire situation.
“Despite applying for at least one or two roles a day it seems impossible to think I will hear back from them at all.
“I know a few others who are stuck in this situation but most of them do not have a degree and have just left college.”
Hundreds of thousands of university graduates enter the job market each year applying for entry level roles across the country.
Entry level jobs are roles normally designed for job-seekers with little to no experience.
However, it is reported that on average 37% of jobs d as ‘entry-level jobs’ required prior working experience.
When a length of experience was requested for an entry-level role the average time stated was as high as 2.5 years.
Harris believes this is part of the problem.
He added: “The demand for experience on entry level roles is ridiculous.
“I had a phone interview for an assistant ecologist and they said they required at least three years experience after a degree for only a £25,000 salary.”
Molly Lundy has been struggling to find a job since October after being let go from work due to burnout.
Lundy has been applying for roles where she can use her creative skills.
She said: “I’ve applied for theatre, film and marketing roles but I have yet to reach the interview stage so it’s quite tough.
“The process of looking for jobs has personally been quite daunting.
“You doubt yourself and your abilities but I push through and try.
“A lot of companies don’t give newcomers who haven’t got qualifications a chance but a lot of people have amazing skills that they have been taught or self-taught and deserve a chance to learn and succeed.”
For Sarah Carver job hunting comes with a completely different set of problems.
Carver said: “As an American the visa situation is particularly difficult and it seems no companies want to sponsor.
“Even though I don’t need sponsorship for two years, the fact that I will ever need sponsorship seems to be making a lot of companies not even consider me.
“There have been multiple applications or first stages that have told me that because I will need sponsorship in the future they won’t even consider me even when the role is for a set time contract.”
A sponsorship Visa allows foreign nationals to enter the UK workforce for an employer with a valid sponsorship license.
Carver finds the whole process disheartening.
She added:” I have a masters and am applying to jobs that sometimes don’t even need degrees and still not even getting an interview.
“It’s difficult for it to not feel personal or like I’m failing and doing something wrong. It’s difficult to find motivation to keep doing it when you just get constant rejection in response.”
Feature image: London Skyline. Image by maikepiel via Flickr. CC BY 2.0
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