There has been a 50 per cent drop in advertised jobs compared with recent years
The number of jobs advertised in academia, research, science and related fields has plummeted since the start of lockdown, according to data from a UK recruitment site.
The number of jobs listed on the Warwick University-owned jobs.ac.uk on 26 May 2020 was around 51 per cent lower than it was around the same time in 2019, with a similar drop compared with the end of February 2020—a month before the UK-wide lockdown was announced.
This drop-off happened across academic jobs in most disciplines, as well as for jobs in professional, managerial and support services, and for master’s degree and PhD studentships.
There were 5,868 jobs listed in total on 26 May, compared with 11,286 at the end of February, and 11,348 at the end of May 2019, as seen in internet archives of the site.
Academic jobs listings, at 4,394, were down by more than 3,000 compared with February 2020. They were also down by a similar amount compared with the same month last year. Master’s studentships more than halved to just 20, whereas PhD listings were down more than 100 compared with this time last year, at 544.
The trend is similar when compared to listings in 2018, suggesting a large, sudden effect of the lockdown and associated impacts of Covid-19 on the sector.
“Universities are facing new challenges in light of the pandemic, but instead of short-sighted cuts we need the sector to pull together and make the case for vital funding to safeguard the future of our universities and our academic capacity,” University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady told Research Professional News.
“Short-term reactions and cuts will have long-term consequences—we cannot afford to lose thousands of teachers, researchers and professional support staff when universities will be a key driver of recovery and need to fire on all cylinders.”
Research Professional News contacted jobs.ac.uk and Warwick University for comment.