Vacancy Statistics 2022/2023
Philip McCurley
Employment Vacancies Notified to the Department for Communities
Data for Quarter One 2023/24 Financial Year
An Official
Statistics publication
Published by:
Professional Services Unit, Department for Communities
Coverage: Northern Ireland
Frequency: Quarterly
Publication Date: 02 August 2023
Key Points
A summary of the key points in Quarter One (April-June) 2023/24 are
as follows -
There were 11,636 vacancies notified to DfC, a decrease of 1,526 (-12%) from the previous quarter- the fourth quarter (January-March) of 2022/23, it should be noted seasonal factors can affect vacancy trends.
There were 7,801 full-time vacancies (67%), 2,942 part time vacancies (25%) and 893 casual vacancies (8%).
The most frequently notified occupation types for vacancies were ‘Caring, Leisure and Other Service occupations’ with 3,790 vacancies (33%), ‘Elementary occupations’ with 1,910 vacancies (16%) and ‘Professional occupations’ with 1,370 vacancies (12%).
The industry type with the largest number of notified vacancies was ‘Human Health and Social Work activities’, accounting for 3,108 vacancies (27%), followed by ‘Administrative and Service Support activities’ (3,068 vacancies, 26%) and ‘Other service activities’ (1,871 vacancies, 16%).
The Jobs and Benefit Offices (JBOs) with the largest numbers of vacancies were Holywood Road with 1,124 (10%), Shaftesbury Square with 979 (8%), Belfast North with 751 (6%), Portadown with 652 (6%) and Antrim with 638 (5%).
29% of vacancies were in the most deprived 20% of areas in Northern Ireland.
Introduction
This Statistical Factsheet, which is published three times a year
(along with a more detailed annual bulletin Department
for Communities (DfC) website), presents key information on
employment vacancies which have been notified to the Department for
Communities (DfC). The information is taken from the Department’s
vacancy management service (JobApplyNI) which is a free
website developed by DfC that offers a service for organisations
advertising vacancies and for jobseekers searching and applying for
jobs.
The statistics presented here do not relate to the total
unsatisfied demand for staff by employers, but to only those vacant
positions that have been notified by employers to DfC.
Supplementary tables accompanying this publication are available on the
Department
for Communities (DfC) website.
Quarterly Statistics and Trends
Trend Data
Employment vacancies for quarter one 2023/24 saw a 12% decline from the previous quarter (quarter four 2022/23) and a 47% decline from quarter one 2022/23 (see notes section regarding commentary on factors impacting vacancy trends).
Vacancy Type
In Quarter One 2023/24 some 67% of vacancies were full-time, while 25% related to part-time and 8% represented casual vacancies.
Figure 1: Notified Vacancies by Vacancy Type, Quarter One 2023/24
Note- Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
Occupation Type
The chart below (Figure 2) presents the Standard Occupational Classification 2020 (SOC 2020), which is used to organise vacancies notified to DfC into job groups according to skill level and skill specialisation. Further information, including definitions relating to the Standard Occupational Classification (2020) can be found in the notes section.
Figure 2: Notified Vacancies by SOC (2020) Group Titles, Quarter One 2023/24
Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations covers occupations whose tasks involve the provision of a service to customers, whether in a public protective or personal care capacity. (e.g. care of sick, elderly and infirm; care of children, personal care).
Industry Type
The Standard Industrial Classification 2007 (SIC 2007) is used to
organise vacancies notified to DfC by the type of economic activity in
which they are engaged into 21 categories. Vacancies are assigned the
SIC 2007 code of the employer that notified them. Further information,
including definitions, relating to the SIC 2007 can be found in the
notes section.
The industry type with the largest number of notified vacancies was
‘Human Health and Social Work activities’, accounting for 3,108
vacancies (27%), followed by ‘Administrative and Service Support
activities’ (3,068 vacancies, 26%) and ‘Other service activities’ (1,871
vacancies, 16%).
The top 5 industrial classifications make up 81% (9,428) of the total number of vacancies notified in this quarter.
Figure 3: Notified Vacancies by SIC (2007) Section (Top 5), Quarter One 2023/24
Human Health and Social Work Activities covers health care provided
by trained medical professionals in hospitals and other facilities, to
residential care activities that still involve a degree of health care
activities and to social work activities not involving the services of
health care professionals.
Jobs and Benefits Office
The map below (Figure 4) presents vacancies assigned to Jobs and Benefit Offices (JBOs). The purpose is not to rank JBOs by the number of notified vacancies, but rather to gain an understanding of the spread of notified vacancies at a local level.
Figure 4: Notified Vacancies by Jobs and Benefit Office, Quarter One 2023/24
In the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year the JBOs with the largest numbers of vacancies were Holywood Road with 1,124 (10%), Shaftesbury Square with 979 (8%), Belfast North with 751 (6%), Portadown with 652 (6%) and Antrim with 638 (5%).
Deprivation
The NI Deprivation Measure (2017) divides Northern Ireland into 890
super output areas. Each area is assigned a rank according to its level
of deprivation, 1 being the most deprived and 890 the least. Further
information on the Deprivation Measures can be found in the notes
section.
In the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year 29% of vacancies were listed in the 20% most deprived areas while 20% of vacancies were located in the 20% least deprived areas.
Figure 5: Notified Vacancies by NIMDM, Quarter One 2023/24
Notes
Background
This publication presents statistics on employment vacancies notified
to Department for Communities (DfC) in Quarter one 2023/24 (April-June
2023). The information is taken from the department’s vacancy service JobApplyNI which went live on 31
March 2022, replacing the previous vacancy service and websites.
JobApplyNI is a free website developed by DfC which offers a service for
organisations advertising vacancies and for jobseekers searching and
applying for jobs.
The previous legacy vacancy management system used the Client
Management System (CMS) and two associated websites (Employers Online
website and Jobseekers Online website).The time series from the previous
system ran from 2014/15 to 2021/22 due to improvements which were made
to the methodology for recording and validating data on vacancies in
2013. The introduction of JobApplyNI has led to further efficiencies in
notifying vacancy statistics.
Following on from the release of the 2022/23 bulletin which reported
on vacancy data from JobApplyNI, this publication is the first DfC
quarterly statistical factsheet containing vacancy data from the
JobApplyNI system. JobApplyNI allows for more enhanced systematic
validations (e.g. identification of rejected vacancies) and allows for
presentation of updated SOC (2020) codes and as such caution should be
exercised when comparing data from 2022/23 onwards with that from
previous years.
Coverage
The relevant data are extracted from the JobApplyNI system each month
to form a vacancies database which is maintained by the Department’s
Professional Services Unit. The data presented in this statistical
report are derived from the vacancies database. The statistics presented
in this report are derived from data extracted from JobApplyNI on 4 July
2023. Ongoing validation work and changes made to this live database may
result in data revisions. These revisions are performed transparently,
as soon as practicable and in accordance with T3.9 of the UK Statistics Authority
Code of Practice for Statistics.
This factsheet presents vacancies notified to DfC. The statistics
presented do not relate to total unsatisfied demand for staff by
employers, only those vacant positions notified by employers to the
Department.
Trends
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces monthly analysis of
vacancy
statistics but NI companies are not approached because of the risk
of overlap with other surveys conducted by NI Departments. Estimates for
the UK are derived by weighing up the data for Great Britain using
employment estimates (NI accounts for around 3% of UK employment).
Labour market conditions impact vacancy trends, for example, the 2021/22
financial year saw record number of UK vacancies with the economy
recovering from the impact of the pandemic but there have been 12
successive monthly declines in vacancy numbers, as reported in July
2023. Seasonal factors can also impact vacancy figures in-year
e.g. September would traditionally see higher levels of vacancies as
employers recruit in preparation for the festive season with December
vacancies relatively lower in comparison. It should also be noted that
5,962 vacancies on the legacy system were migrated to JobApplyNI
impacting comparisons between the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial
year with quarter one of 2023/24.
Methodology and Definitions
UK Standard Occupational Classification 2020 (SOC 2020):
DfC assigns each vacancy the SOC 2020 code which best reflects the
main duties of the post. Vacancies are broken down by the nine SOC 2020
Major Group levels. Examples and information can be found in the SOC
2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups - Office for
National Statistics.
UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2007 (SIC 2007):
Employers are assigned the SIC 2007 code which best reflects their
dominant activity by DfC. All vacancies are assigned the SIC 2007 code
of the notifying employer. Vacancies are broken down by SIC 2007 section
level. Information about SIC 2007 is available in the UK
Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2007 (SIC
2007): Structure and Explanatory Notes.
Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 (NIMDM 2017)
The NIMDM 2017 is the official measure of deprivation in Northern Ireland and provides a relative measure of deprivation for geographical areas. NIMDM 2017 gives an overall measure of seven types of deprivation:
- Income Deprivation
- Employment Deprivation
- Health Deprivation & Disability
- Education, Skills & Training Deprivation
- Access to Services
- Living Environment
- Crime & Disorder
Northern Ireland’s 890 Super Output Areas (SOA) are ranked in terms of deprivation level, which in turn, are grouped into five equal bands known as quintiles. Vacancy statistics are presented by these quintile bands: ranks 1-178 (most deprived), ranks 179-356, ranks 357-534, ranks 535-712 and ranks 713-890 (least deprived). Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure ranks are based on the Super Output Area (SOA) classification of the vacancy. SOA classifications are assigned to vacancies using the Central Postcode Directory (January 2023) based on the postcode of the employer’s account. When a valid employer’s account postcode is not available, the postcode of the vacancy is used. Although an employer’s account is within a particular SOA, the job may be based elsewhere in Northern Ireland, in the UK or in the Republic of Ireland.