Nurse, Automotive Technician, and IT Sales are the hardest jobs to fill in the UK, with vacancies lying open for over 100 days on average, according to smarter job search engine.
Based on an analysis* of over 80 million UK job ads advertised between April 2016 and January 2023, the average number of days a job ad stays open for was tracked, revealing the easiest and hardest-to-fill roles, and the sectors facing the biggest recruitment challenges.
Hardest and easiest roles to fill
With talent shortages and a skills mismatch persisting across the automotive, healthcare and sales sectors in 2023, vacancies for three jobs roles are lying open for over 3 months, on average: Automotive Technician (109 days), Registered Nurse (101 days), and IT Sales Consultant (100 days). When a job vacancy is advertised for a longer period, it suggests a tighter job market or an overly lengthy hiring process. According to ONS, more than one in 10 advertised job vacancies in December 2022 were in healthcare, more than in any other sector. Amid such acute nursing shortages, it was revealed that the NHS turned to overseas nurses for help.
As more employers are mandating employees to return to the office this year, the data also shows an intensifying scramble among parents looking for competent caretakers. It requires almost three months on average to fill the roles of Live-in Nanny (89 days) and Babysitters (86 days), making these the 4th and 5th hardest jobs to fill in the UK
Meanwhile, high impact positions that demand very specific skills and experience, such as Sitecore Developer (80 days), Mortgage Protection Advisor (80 days) and Hydrologist (78 days) are also taking a long time to fill.
Some roles remain unaffected by the skills crisis most businesses are facing. The quickest-to-fill job in January 2023 was Amusement and Recreation Attendant, with job ads tending to remain open for merely 19 days. Many of the easiest-to-fill roles are within the legal sector – which has become hugely oversaturated by fresh graduates in recent years. It takes around three weeks (23 days) to fill the roles of Employment Solicitor, Patent Secretary, and Funds Lawyer.
Top 10 hardest roles to fill, January 2023
| Rank | Job title | Average number of days required to fill the position |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Automotive Technician | 108.7 |
| 2 | Registered Nurse | 100.6 |
| 3 | IT Sales Consultant | 99.8 |
| 4 | Live-in Nanny | 89.3 |
| 5 | Babysitter | 86.0 |
| 6 | Sitecore Developer | 84.6 |
| 7 | ERP Consultant | 84.1 |
| 8 | Mortgage Protection Adviser | 79.7 |
| 9 | Driver Trainer | 79.6 |
| 10 | Hydrologist | 78.4 |
Top 10 easiest roles to fill, January 2023
| Rank | Job title | Average number of days required to fill the position |
| 1 | Amusement and Recreation Attendant | 19.1 |
| 2 | Employment Solicitor | 22.5 |
| 3 | Patent Secretary | 22.6 |
| 4 | Funds Lawyer | 22.6 |
| 5 | Securities Underwriter | 22.6 |
| 6 | Premises Manager | 22.7 |
| 7 | Personal Injury Fee Earner | 22.8 |
| 8 | Fitness Coach | 22.8 |
| 9 | Activities Organiser | 22.8 |
| 10 | Content Editor | 24.7 |
Now is the best time to get hired
Over the last year, the UK’s hiring landscape has shifted in favour of employers finding staff. Job postings stayed listed for an average of 37 days in January 2023, compared to 44 days a year prior. Comparably, during the first national lockdown of the pandemic, the average time required to fill a role was nearly two months (55 days). What’s more, 2023 also marks the best time in seven years for employers to fill their roles.
Graph 1: The average number of days to fill a role, 2016-2023
*Full data is available upon request
Graduate, Creative & Design, and Travel – the longest-lingering job ads
Employers are spending six weeks on average looking for the right candidate for Graduate roles, making this the sector where jobs are lying open longest. This may be driven by companies’ commitment to finding the best talent to nurture, prolonged interview processes due to the lack of working experience, or high volumes of entry-level CVs to sift through for each role. Job postings in the Creative & Design, Travel, Sales, and IT sectors are also remaining standing for longer, with job ads staying open for 40 days on average.
Average time to fill by sector, January 2023
| Rank | Sector | Average number of days required to fill the position |
| 1 | Graduate | 41 |
| 2 | Creative & Design | 40.6 |
| 3 | Travel | 40.3 |
| 4 | Sales | 40.1 |
| 5 | IT | 39.5 |
| 6 | Retail | 39.4 |
| 7 | Consultancy | 39.1 |
| 8 | Scientific & QA | 38.2 |
| 9 | Domestic help & Cleaning | 37.9 |
| 10 | Engineering | 37.7 |
| 11 | Energy, Oil & Gas | 37.6 |
| 12 | Hospitality & Catering | 37.4 |
| 13 | Maintenance | 37.1 |
| 14 | PR, Advertising & Marketing | 37.1 |
| 15 | Manufacturing | 37 |
| 16 | Property | 36.8 |
| 17 | Logistics & Warehouse | 36.7 |
| 18 | Customer Services | 36.5 |
| 19 | Healthcare & Nursing | 36.2 |
| 20 | HR & Recruitment | 35.1 |
| 21 | Social work | 34 |
| 22 | Trade & Construction | 34 |
| 23 | Legal | 33.8 |
| 24 | Admin | 33.2 |
| 25 | Teaching | 32.3 |
| 26 | Voluntary | 29.9 |
Andrew Hunter, cofounder of job search engine Adzuna, comments: “The jobs market may have swung back in employers’ favour, but many businesses are still struggling to fill talent gaps. Driven by skills shortages and ongoing workers’ strikes, the hardest-filling roles demand specialist skills and lie within the automotive, healthcare and sales sectors. Job postings for Automotive Technician, Registered Nurse, and IT Sales Consultant lasted an average of 100 days in January 2023. Employers in these sectors should aim to speed up their recruitment processes to snag workers ahead of the competition. That means thinking carefully about how many interview rounds are really necessary, or rolling rounds together to condense the process. Quick and clear communication is key. The positive side is, there are clear signs showing 2023 is the best time for employers to post a job ad and for jobseekers to land a role, with job postings generally open for a little over a month, and open roles filling at the quickest rate in seven years.”
*Adzuna
