The report, which compared job market data in January, February and March 2019 and compared this with the same period last year, also found that average pay for new catering jobs fell by a marginal 0.8%, from £25,822 in Q1 2018, to £25,611.33 in 2019. This drop equates to £210.67.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, said: “There’s been an influx in new jobs within the catering industry this quarter, which is a positive reflection on the sector’s investment in job creation. However, the findings suggest that this isn’t enough to sway professionals out of their roles, with many refusing to bite and apply for a new job.
“A key contributing factor in the drop in applications this quarter could be the fact that pay is down. With most people choosing to look for a new job in hope of securing a pay rise, lower pay isn’t going to cut it with catering professionals. So, if employers want to entice candidates out of their existing roles, they’ll need to work harder to pull out all the stops.”
The findings fall in line with the rest of the UK as a whole, which saw 4.2% more jobs on offer and a 4.8% drop in applications during this period.
Biggins continued: “For now, it’s clear that all we can do is sit back and watch the Brexit shenanigans play out, in the hope that both candidate and employer confidence will improve in the coming months.”