Wirral is the second-worst place to find a job in the United Kingdom due to a lack in skills and fierce job-hunting competition, according to a new report.
The latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna.co.uk found the north west of England is experiencing tough job competition – with Salford, Wirral and Rochdale in the top five worst places to find employment.
Despite national figures having halved to just under one jobseeker per position advertised across 2014, competition for work remains high in the north with 7.82 jobseekers per vacancy.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “Combined with the high competition for jobs we’re seeing in the north, a logical explanation is that employers are struggling to fill positions due to a lack of skills applicable to the sectors thriving there.
“In order to sustain the uplift the engines of the north must keep running at full throttle, operating on the jet-fuel of the UK’s booming manufacturing and construction industries. We cannot allow economic uncertainty to get in the way of our booming export sector.”
The report by the job site also revealed a correlation between the higher demand for jobs and a faster rise in advertised wages in the north of England – a trend not matched in the south.
Adzuna, a search engine for jobs, was founded in 2011 and is used by more than five million visitors per month.
Mr. Hunter continued: “Individual cities can’t be taken blindly as representatives for entire regions – but they are useful indicators.
“David Cameron has made funding for apprenticeships a core part of his re-election campaign, and the figures bear this out as a sensible tonic for employment, especially in the north.”
Salaries are rising more quickly in the north than in the south, with the north west seeing a 10.3% improvement in annual salaries from December 2013 to 2014. The average salary for someone in the north west is £31,028.