The jobs market is undergoing a revolution – businesses must adapt

Wise enterprises will grasp that jobs have to be made more satisfying, and the prizes will go to those that are best at doing so, writes Hamish McRae

UK job vacancies have reached their highest number since records began (AFP/Getty)

One dominant feature of the business outlook this year – certainly for Britain, but also for much of the developed world – will be the hunt for labour. Wages will, and should, go up. But paying people more is only part of the answer. Wise enterprises will grasp that jobs have to be made more satisfying, and the prizes will go to those that are best at doing so.

The starting point is that there are more jobs on offer in the UK than ever before. The most recent numbers from the Office for National Statistics show 1,219,000 unfilled vacancies. That compares with 803,000 at the end of 2019, before the pandemic struck. Go back to early 2008, before the banking crisis, and the previous peak was 702,000. The current demand is off-the-charts astounding.

Is that because people are making lifestyle choices not to work – dubbed “the great resignation”? Well, maybe, to some extent. But looking at the UK, there are more people in jobs than ever before, so that does not quite square.