The hardest city to get a job in

If you live in Merthyr Tydfil, you face the most competitive jobs market in the UK!

Unemployment currently stands at 2.43 million, with the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance rising at its fastest rate in two years in May.

Clearly, it is an exceptionally difficult and competitive marketplace if you’re after a job. And new research shows just which towns and cities are the hardest in which to get a job.

The competitive jobs market

The GMB union has used figures from the Office for National Statistics and Job Centres from across the nation to work out which areas of the UK have the largest number of unemployed workers chasing each unfilled job vacancy.

Across the nation as a whole, there are just shy of six (5.8) unemployed workers for each unfilled job. However, that ratio jumps significantly in London, to 10.1 for each vacancy, making it the toughest region in which to find a job.

Here’s how the regional breakdown looks:

Region	Unfilled vacancies	Total jobseeker’s allowance claimants	Ratio
London	22,401	226,182	10.1
Scotland	15,551	142,377	9.2
North East	10,916	84,610	7.8
North West	28,900	186,808	6.5
Yorkshire & the Humber	24,756	150,203	6.1
Wales	13,755	73,104	5.3
West Midlands	33,507	162,914	4.9
East Midlands	23,075	103,235	4.5
East	24,901	110,849	4.5
South East	32,831	137,027	4.2
South West	23,105	84,335	3.7

Good luck in Merthyr

That’s all well and good but these regions are very big places, covering areas both prosperous and downtrodden. It’s a bit vague to say it’s difficult to get a job in Scotland, as there will plenty of areas where that’s not the case.

Thankfully the GMB have also put together a more detailed list, looking at specific towns and cities that are seeing this job competition at its keenest. And it’s a town in Wales which tops the table, with a staggering 32.7 jobseeker’s allowance claimants for each vacancy.

Region	Unfilled vacancies	Total jobseeker’s allowance claimants	Ratio
Merthyr Tydfil	63	2,063	32.7
East Ayrshire	139	4,345	31.3
Inverclyde	86	2,648	30.8
West Dunbartonshire	122	3,726	30.5
Hackney	452	10,941	24.2
Haringey	450	10,577	23.5
Greenwich	334	7,644	22.9
Lewisham	443	9,926	22.4
North Ayrshire	243	5,370	22.1
Barking and Dagenham	302	6,581	21.8
Waltham Forest	476	9,244	19.4
Knowsley	335	6,168	18.4
Eilean Siar	28	491	17.5
Kingston upon Hull, City of	849	14,425	17.0
Medway	417	6,764	16.2
East Renfrewshire	92	1,395	15.2
Hartlepool	280	4,192	15.0
Clackmannanshire	124	1,828	14.7
Dundee City	381	5,445	14.3
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff	460	6,574	14.3
Bexley	319	4,500	14.1
Redcar and Cleveland	386	5,445	14.1
Renfrewshire	390	5,472	14.0
Redbridge	522	7,224	13.8
Wirral	634	8,748	13.8
Glasgow City	1,870	25,545	13.7
Middlesbrough	516	7,007	13.6
Brent	731	9,918	13.6
South Lanarkshire	656	8,848	13.5
South Tyneside	453	6,032	13.3
Newham	868	11,284	13.0
Caerphilly	413	5,279	12.8
South Ayrshire	226	2,879	12.7
Lambeth	932	11,799	12.7
Southwark	838	10,573	12.6
Falkirk	376	4,635	12.3
Tower Hamlets	863	10,507	12.2
Croydon	843	10,045	11.9
Blaenau Gwent	248	2,955	11.9
North East Lincolnshire	550	6,361	11.6

As you can see, the entire top 40 have a higher ratio of claimants per vacancy than the top region, London. From a personal point of view, there are rather too many towns from my childhood featured as well!

Clearly, the jobs market is extremely competitive at the moment, and you’ll be up against a fair old number of rivals for any jobs you do apply for. So here’s how to ensure you stand out, and have the best possible chance of getting the job!

Get your CV and cover letter right

In most cases, your cover letter and CV will be the way that you make your first impression on a prospective employer, so it’s important to get it right. You want to stand out from the rest of the applicants, but that doesn’t mean you need to use wacky fonts or talk about yourself in the third-person, Apprentice-style.

Be clear about exactly why you are the right person for the job, why your skills tally up with what they have specified they are looking for, and make sure there aren’t any daft spelling mistakes!

For a comprehensive guide to writing a great CV, have a read of How to write the perfect CV.

Get connected online

The internet offers both opportunities and potential pitfalls when it comes to getting a job. For starters, you don’t want too many incriminating photos on Facebook or questionable tweets on Twitter that are likely to put an employer off.

Related how-to guide

Get a promotion

If you want to get a promotion at work, these tips should set you on the right path.

See the guide

However, sites like LinkedIn are another way to set yourself apart from the rest. Putting together a decent profile on LinkedIn doesn’t take long, and if you manage to get a few recommendations from former colleagues and clients it can pay dividends in the end. This is a good thing to do even if you aren’t on the job hunt as recruitment consultants and headhunters love to use the site to find suitable candidates for vacancies.

Your dream job might just come looking for you!

Call in favours

Recommendations from existing employees always helps the case for an applicant. So ask your friends and family if their employers are currently recruiting. If so, they may be able to put in a good word for you.

Be prepared

If you want the job, you have to really demonstrate that to the interviewer. So make sure you have brushed up on the company, its history and what it does.

Showing that you have done your homework on the company will win you immediate favour, and could make all the difference.

Improve your skills

If you’re out of work, or have simply decided that you’ve had enough of your current job, it’s time for a think about what you really want to do with your life. I sold advertising on a magazine for a year, and it was so soul destroying that it made me re-evaluate what I wanted to do with my life. As a result I went out and got my journalism qualifications.

If you know what you really want to do as a career, work out what you need to do to get there. If that means you need new skills or qualifications, go for it!

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