York has an unprecedented number of job vacancies as city employment reaches a record high.
According to the latest figures from City of York Council, there was an increase of 600 vacancies between the beginning and end of May, reaching a peak of 3,871 – “the highest recorded level of vacancies since data tracking began in August 2021”.
“Whilst it is likely that some of these vacancies were generated for seasonal summer employment purposes, numbers are still unprecedented,” a council report states.
New stats from the ONS show that employment in York has reached an all time high with 92,500 employed in city companies.
The number of people claiming out-of-work benefits fell in March, April and May.
“This means that the claimant count has decreased for 14 consecutive months, which is a remarkable success,” the council says.
The provisional reading for May shows the claimant count at 2,585 people, 765 more people than March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK.
However the number of residents on Universal Credit is still high on recent historic levels, showing that many people are still in low-paid work.
A total of 5,272 are people claiming Universal Credit while in employment.
“As such, there is still progress to be made in getting residents into well-paid employment,” the report says.
Footfall higher
The number of people coming in to York city centre has increased by 36% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2021.
According to data from the Movements Insights platform, the average weekly footfall for the first six months of 2022 is 122,107, compared to 89,496.
The total number of visitors coming to York has remained consistent across 2022, with 1.5 million visitors across both quarters.
Even the rail strikes “had a muted impact on York’s city centre”.
The report will be presented to the decision session of the executive member for economy and strategic planning on Tuesday (26 July).
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