Top recruitment stats for 2021

With the pandemic disrupting traditional ways of working, it has been a year of change for the recruitment industry. With that in mind, we’ve put together a guide to the recruitment stats you need to know for 2021. This includes key info on every stage of the hiring process for both job-seekers and employers, specifically looking at the UK tech scene.  

For job hunters  

The tech startup scene 

The UK tech startup and scaleup ecosystem is currently valued at $585bn - 120% more than in 2017, and more than double the next most valuable ecosystem. This growth equals greater opportunities for job seekers in the tech sector.  

Tech vacancies in the UK 

Jobs in the tech sector are booming despite most sectors still reeling from the pandemic. According to government-funded think tank Tech Nation, the number of advertised tech vacancies increased by 36 percent between June and August last year. 

Top 10 most in-demand tech roles 

To understand employer demand within the UK, Tech Nation used Adzuna data to analyse the number of advertised tech jobs in 2019.  

Job application process 

• Research has shown that across all sectors it takes the average candidate around four months, or 122 days to find a job. 

• The average application process time (from application to offer acceptance) is 28 days.  

• Hiring managers and recruiters spend a mere 6-8 seconds looking at a CV, so make sure you display the most important information in a clear, digestible way.  

Impact of COVID 19  

Andrew Hunter, Co-Founder of Adzuna, sums up the status of the UK tech hiring scene, saying:  

For employers  

Impact of COVID 19 

While there are still many options open to employees in the UK tech scene, the pandemic has triggered a change in mindset across all industries. For example:   

• 22% of UK workers have realised that their current position isn’t for them due to the COVID pandemic. 

• 65% now want a job that gives ‘a sense of purpose’ due to the pandemic. 

As tech for good specialists, this is a trend we’ve seen first-hand. The number of tech or product candidates who want to move into a role where they make more impact is growing rapidly.  

What do Tech candidates want? 

Stack Overflow create a range of useful resources for monitoring trends in the tech job market, including a yearly survey of developers. The chart below shows the most important factors to the developers surveyed last year: 

• Languages and frameworks used saw an increase on the previous year’s survey, along with office environment and company culture.  

• The latter is a growing trend across industries, as 65% of millennial job seekersvalue company culture when compared to 52% of people aged 45 and above. 

Job application process 

Identifying potential pain-points in your hiring process is one of the best way to optimise it. Here are the stumbling blocks that turned candidates off in 2020:  

• Only 44% of candidates hear from employers within a couple of weeks of applying, while 37% of them get a reply within one week, and only 4% of candidates receive a reply within one day. In a competitive market, responding earlier can give you an edge on snagging your dream candidate.  

• Job ads that include a salary range for the job role got 75% more engagement than the job ads that don’t. If your job ads aren’t getting much traction, add more details on salary and benefits.  

• 60% of applicants will abandon the recruitment process if it is too complex and stressful. 

Remember, 72% of job seekers are likely to share their bad experiences online or with someone directly – so getting yours right is invaluable. 

Diversity in the UK tech scene  

Increasing diversity in the workplace, especially in tech, should still be a high priority for employers. 

Women continue to be the minority (in terms of gender) in tech by a huge margin:  

• Whilst 49.8% of UK workers identify as female, in tech, it’s half that, at just 25.5%.  

• The two biggest barriers for women in tech are a lack of mentors (48%) and a lack of female role models (42%). 

The stats are even lower for tech workers from an ethnic minority:  

• For every 100 people working in a digital tech job, only 5 were from an ethnic minority. 

The importance of benefits  

With more people working from home than ever, benefits that used to appeal to office-based employees don’t cut it anymore. Consider shaking up your benefits scheme and making it more flexible. It’s worth it, as good benefits are still a huge draw:  

• 75% of respondents agreed that because of the pandemic, employer-provided benefits are more important than ever before. 

• In fact, half of employees surveyed said they would be willing to take a chance on a new job right now if it offered better benefits. 

Research has shown that the four most important benefit trends to watch in 2021 are:  

• Healthcare plans  

• Benefits that help at home (E.G household management services, meal plans etc) 

• Childcare help and maternity/paternity benefits  

• Mental health support  

What recruitment trends have you noticed over the past year? Let us know on Twitter or LinkedIn, we’d love to hear from you!