Despite the decline, there were 41.3% more vacancies up for grabs than there were in June, suggesting that the job market is slowly picking back up. 

The job board analysed data from its site throughout the month of July and compared the findings with data from July 2019 and June 2020 to build an understanding of how the UK job market is fairing right now.  

Interestingly, it reveals that applications to jobs in Scotland have dropped by 6.2% year-on-year, but have risen by 21.2% month-on-month. As a result, the application to job ratio has increased by 101.2% year-on-year but dropped by 14.2% month-on-month. 

Further analysis of the data has found that the cities which experienced the biggest drop in job vacancies year-on-year were Aberdeen (down 73.9%), Glasgow (down 57.9%), Edinburgh (down 49.5%), Perth (down 45.6%), Inverness (down 45%), Stirling (down 44.8%) and Dundee (down 37.2%). 

CV-Library also found that application figures dropped by 58.5% in Aberdeen, by 15.5% in Glasgow and by 3.8% in Inverness. However, they rose by 60.7% in Stirling, 18% in Edinburgh, 17.4% in Perth and by 10.5% in Dundee. 

When looking at the most competitive locations to find a new job in, the data reveals that the application to job ratio rose by 190.8% in Perth, 133.4% in Edinburgh, 115.8% in Perth, 113.7% in Inverness, 101% in Glasgow, 75.9% in Dundee and by 58.9% in Aberdeen 

Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, said: “Demand for jobs is still outstripping supply and this will be a trend that we’ll continue to see for some time. Naturally, the summer months tend to be a quieter time for both recruitment and job searching. However, the fact that our economy is struggling means there are less opportunities up for grabs than normal and more people looking for work; not an ideal combination.” 

Interestingly, despite there being less jobs available, average pay in Scotland actually rose by 10.7% year-on-year; from £32,602 in July 2019, to £36,079 in July 2020. Pay also rose by 19.1% in Stirling, 18.2% in Aberdeen, 15% in Dundee, 14.4% in Edinburgh, 8.1% in Inverness and by 7.8% in Glasgow. It dropped by 3.9% in Perth.

Mr Biggins continued: “While it’s a promising sign that salaries are higher than they were a year ago, we know that companies are starting to make difficult decisions about their workforce. This means that you may well need to take a pay cut if you are applying for a new job right now. Don’t be disheartened by this as it’s only to be expected; but do ask about different perks the company might offer, such as flexible or remote working.”