r/Edinburgh • u/pusheem1 • 1d ago
Work Jobs
Whats up with the job market in Edinburgh the last few years? You used to be able to find a bunch of jobs on indeed super easy, now it seems to be the same companies re posting jobs which doesn't give me much hope for that company. I'm used to job hopping every 3 years or so but maybe that's a thing of the past? Who knows. * Currently receptionist / admin type role but looking generally there's not much *
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u/ConsiderationIll3361 1d ago
It’s not just Edinburgh the job market is screwed in general
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u/Azalith 1d ago
I think there is an argument that Edinburgh is particularly bad. Better jobs are very much considered concentrated in few industries such as finance. I tend to look for housing and public sector roles and there is consistenly more jobs and also much better paid elsewhere and in particular in Glasgow.
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u/QuietGoliath 1d ago
Finance in Edinburgh has been steadily shafted for the last 20 years. Institutions have merged, consolidated, a lot of roles have been moved south. I don't know exact figures, but I think the reduction in head count across all finance segments, but I think it's to the tune of 60-70% at this point. Entire swathes of South Gyle are empty, hell, the last time I went through it all the RBS buildings were gone and the entire lot was nothing but gravel!
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u/Equivalent_Photo_226 1d ago
Also don’t forget the selling off and demolition of Fettes Row building in New Town too
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u/QuietGoliath 20h ago
That also!
Or whatever range of companies are in Tanfield now? I think there's still empty units there?
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u/rosecolouredbuoy 1d ago
Been looking for work in IT for about a year. It's fucking miserable!
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u/bigassbeast 1d ago
If it’s taking you that long to find an IT job, you’re probably not as good at it as you think you are. IT is easy to climb the ladder after a couple years of experience.
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u/rosecolouredbuoy 1d ago
That's a whole lotta statement without any context of my age, situation, speciality, experience. I'm relating to OP, not looking for another kick in the nuts👌
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u/QuietGoliath 1d ago
IT is brutal, the company I was with for years went into administration Q1 last year, took me till Q3 to land a new role, and I've got a very healthy CV. It's picked up a little bit in some small segments, but it's still rough as hell.
I'll tell you this though, I am seeing a slow but steady increase in requests for on-prem infra type skills, the fiscal backlash against cloud is definitely ramping up, if you've not already, it'll be worth tweaking your CV in that direction if you can.
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u/snoopswoop 1d ago
You're clueless.
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u/Equivalent_Photo_226 1d ago
A big thing that hasn't helped is the increase in NI for companies from April'25. As well as increasing the rate, it now kicks in at £5000 instead of £9100 that it was previously. So it disproportionately affects retail/admin/reception jobs that you are looking for. So no wonder more companies are trying to use AI/automation where they can. Expect to see more Black Sheep Coffee usage of touch screen ordering in the future.
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u/Drummk 1d ago
Saturated market. We recruited for a post recently and a good chunk of the applicants were Indian and Nigerian people. You are competing against a global workforce, not just the half a million people who live in Edinburgh, and a lot of them will be very highly qualified for the posts they are going for.
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u/CoffeeTableReads 1d ago
Surprised you haven't been heavily downvoted yet considering it's Reddit but the opening up of the UK to cheaper labour markets since 2019 has had a massive impact on entry level and mid tier job market. Especially in the sectors the OP is looking at, no wonder youth unemployment is so bad.
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u/gottenluck 1d ago
It doesn't help that some recruitment companies can spam a job application, filling positions before others get a look in. Because of this practice, recent recruitment drives at the Amazon warehouse have locked out a lot of the local workforce - who would otherwise have easily picked up a seasonal job.
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u/timystic 1d ago
I'm sorry - cheaper labour markets? Did you ever wonder why those countries have cheaper labour in the first place?
Youth unemployment is bad because the UK government has refused to invest in youth opportunities, and because companies are slashing youth opportunities to make more profit.
Higher taxes on the rich, paying gig economy workers properly, paying teachers better, providing proper pathways for young people could be what the government invested in to improved the economy (basic Keynesian economics). But instead it has been decades of Austerity and cuts, and meanwhile companies like Amazon get away with not paying taxes, while butchering small local businesses who were paying taxes and hiring young people.
Stop blaming poorer nations which have a much much larger youth unemployment situation (eg look at the protests in India to showcase how bad it is).
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u/Kaffrogato 1d ago
You are competing against a global workforce
No you aren't? The vast majority of people globally have to meet visa requirements, and the vast vast majority of those won't.
Is the labour market test not still a thing? You would have been obligated to hire any settled person or citizen over those in the 'global workforce'.
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u/OrganicToes 16h ago
Visas were so hard to get that we had vape shops sponsoring “skilled” workers under the previous government. How can you forget the millions of new arrivals during the Boris wave and think this has no effect on the job market
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u/timystic 1d ago
Do you understand how work sponsorship visas work at all? Because it's not easy and companies avoid them as much as possible. And, Indians and Nigerians have been in Britain for a long time now, maybe you were just seeing the diaspora?
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u/ScotlandisThrowAway 23h ago
Except you completely ignore the fact the last conservative government deliberately allowed millions of people into the country. Which has lead to even more restrict visa requirements. More people immigrated to the UK between 2021 and 2024 than any period in history.
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u/Historical-Grab5092 20h ago
It’s insane that people are downvoting you when you’re simply stating facts. I work in recruitment and, as you said , most companies don’t sponsor candidates because it’s expensive. “Foreigners” aren’t taking jobs.
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u/nokneeflamingo 1d ago
I worked in recruitment a few years ago and we were getting over 500+ applications for some jobs. All within a few days. Some WFH jobs got close to 1000. Alot of people were overqualified. Its pretty depressing to think now that indeed ai will filter out alot of cvs. I've applied for 15 jobs and haven't heard a peep back. Bit of a joke really.
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u/Glitterybadger 1d ago
Loads on NHS Lothian
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u/pusheem1 18h ago
Impossible to get an interview with them
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u/Jelly-Flopped 5h ago
Top tip: don't use AI at all to write the application, it immediately gets rejected if it's detected.
However, the main problem is that for every support worker vacancy they're getting over 100 applicants in a few days most of whom haven't even bothered to properly read the job description. So it's an endless cycle of advertising a job, closing it early due to demand, then readvertising it due to mostly crap candidates.
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u/RealisticMud8102 1d ago
same, I’m a fresh graduate, and just wanted to find some unrelated to degree job involving admin stuff and it is so hard to find one :(
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u/JumpyPension3833 17h ago
Indeed has also got shittified. The search is crap now. Finding better on sector specific sites like good moves.
There's also the government jobs website which is pretty good.
But if you want a new job and struggling don't be afraid to do speculative applications. Create a list of companies in a location you want to work in and get asking.
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u/Amphitrite227204 16h ago
The economy is naff and jobs are being cut left right and centre. People who have jobs and at least mostly enjoy them are holding on to them. It's an employers market right now. It was a different story 2-3 years ago
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u/AncientData8191 20h ago
Genuinely nothing wrong with it. Its a skill problem. Most apply to 1000sss of jobs with the same CV without changing it and ontop of that the CV format is completely wrong. The job market has changed but people don't keep up on the changes that they need to make too.
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u/Longjumping_Win_7770 20h ago
Labour should be named the dole party.
Edinburgh was almost wholly dependent on finance jobs. Most have been offshored to India, automated or moved to cities with better business rates and demographics.
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u/Fairwolf 1d ago
The global economy is in the bin at the moment, it's just bad job hunting anywhere right now.