Jobs Market Set To Remain Tough

Many of us have found it hard to make ends meet during the recession but most of us have retained our jobs. For those who have been unlucky enough to have been made redundant getting back into employment can be the hardest job of all. The employment market is tough and trading will remain difficult even after the recession eases, one expert has said.

According to the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), big firms are cutting back leaving the general public with fewer opportunities and pennies to spend.
A research fellow at the IES revealed recently that it could be as long as two years before the economy fully recovers and jobs start to become widely available once more.

He continued: "With so many applicants going for every job you will find that employers can be choosy about who they take.”

"Our experience tells us that this is detrimental to the chances of those applicants with disadvantages in the labour market whether that is because of lower skills, it could be very young job applicants or older job applicants or anybody with any kind of disability."

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics found that the number of people in employment has fallen while the rate of employment has also dipped. The government body found that the number of inactive people of working age has risen.

Saturation in the jobs market has been illustrated by many large corporate firms having vastly oversubscribed posts. For example one leading supermarket had 1500 applicants for just 92 jobs, and a well known fast food chain had a similar experience when it received 2,200 applications a day for 140 jobs.

If you are looking for a job there are some ways to increase your chances.

Top tips to get employed:

•    Update your CV – make sure there are no mistakes.
•    At interview – be punctual, smartly dressed and polite.
•    Research the company you are applying to. Very often in interviews employers ask questions to find out how much you know about their industry.

If you would like to know more about jobs why not ask AnswerBank Jobs and Education.