This Is Guernsey

By Joel de Woolfson

OMPANIES have confirmed a sharp increase in the number of candidates applying for jobs as unemployment in Guernsey continues to rise.

As at the end of February, 434 people were registered as unemployed and that figure is expected to increase again this month.

There has also been a reduction in the number of jobs available as businesses look to cut costs where possible. This has combined to result in increased competition for new roles.

Specsavers confirmed it had received about 40 applications for a recently advertised job.

Healthspan also said it had seen an increase in applications from young people starting out in employment.

Caroline Shakerley, HR manager, said these included applications for administrative positions requiring a good general education, computer skills and knowledge of Excel spread sheets and database management.

‘We believe that our presence at the Careers Convention earlier in the year was beneficial for promoting the varied roles available within the Healthspan Group.’

Unemployment passed two million in the UK last week, and it has been predicted that for every job available an average of 10 people would be applying.

Melissa Campbell, director at Situations Recruitment, admitted competition for jobs was fierce.

‘Although local redundancies have obviously been upsetting for those involved and mean that more applicants are applying for each job, there are always positions on our books for those who are qualified with strong experience in their field, particularly in the finance sector,’ she said.

Social Security’s February figures also showed that almost twice as many men were unemployed than women.

There were 290 men out of work compared to 144 women.

It is understood that this could be due to more typical ‘male’ jobs, such as labouring, being lost in the economic downturn.

A spokesman for Social Security said it was difficult to know why more men were out of work, but he did not want to speculate.

However, he confirmed, ‘It’s not a reflection of the number of women and men in the workforce,’ adding that over the last decade or so, the number had become more evenly split.

Article posted on 24th March, 2009 - 2.29pm