Nursing roles make up four of the top ten fastest-growing jobs.
Staff shortages in health and social care have led the sector to dominate a ranking of the top 10 fastest-growing jobs in 2019, according to new data released by the world’s largest job site, Indeed.
Indeed analysed thousands of jobs advertised across its platform to pinpoint which have seen the biggest rise in vacancies in 2019 compared to 2018.
The role recording the biggest surge in demand was ‘travelling nurse’ – experienced nurses who provide specific specialist care for a vast area – with vacancies jumping by 169% on their 2018 levels.
Nursing jobs made up four of the top 10, with posts for home care nurses rising by 142%, disability assessor by 138%, and psychiatric nurses by 89%.
With around 43,000 vacancies throughout the NHS in England, Indeed speculate that the rise in demand may be attributed to ongoing staff shortages.
Acute staffing shortages.
Last month the Government promised 50,000 more nurses for the NHS, although subsequent reports suggest that figure includes 18,000 existing nurses who will be encouraged to remain in the NHS or rejoin.
Bill Richards, UK managing director at global job site Indeed, comments: “Such dominance of the top 10 fastest-growing jobs by the health and social care sector shows just how acute the staff shortages – and the recruitment challenges – are for many NHS trusts and local authorities.
“The UK’s unemployment rate stands at just 3.8%, and while this is good news for workers, it can make attracting staff difficult for employers, public and private sector alike, as they have to work harder to woo recruits away from their current jobs.
“Increasing nurse numbers was central to the Government’s election pledges, and both it and the NHS will need to persuade thousands more people to train as nurses, or return to the profession, to fill existing vacancies let alone new ones.”