Buoyant transport vacancies buck national job trends
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JOB VACANCIES IN the transport sector have bucked unemployment trends, according to Skills for Logistics (SfL), which says there were increased opportunities in many job categories during January.
HGV driving vacancies for the month were almost double those of January 2010, at 11,341 compared with 5,432.
Van driver vacancies increased 45% to 5,288; stevedores, dockers and slingers by more than 200% to 171; while transport and distribution manager vacancies increased 26% to 106.
However, there were reductions in the number of vacancies for purchasing managers, storage and warehousing managers and importers/exporters.
SfL head of intelligence Dr Ross Moloney says the figures are “good news for the economy – they suggest that, despite the seemingly poor employment scene, there is positive activity and movement of goods and services”. SfL chief executive Dr Mick Jackson says the sector skills council has also seen a fall of around 26,000 in the number of exlogistics employees claiming job seekers allowance.
In October HGV driver vacancies hit a three-year high of 25,720.