It is 200 times harder to find work in Salford than in Cambridge despite nationwide rise in advertised positions, says job website
A rise in job vacancies has made it easier to find employment, but a north-south divide persists, according to a report on Sunday.
The study showed there were more than 770,000 advertised job vacancies last month, an increase of 13% on a year ago, but the number of vacancies was unevenly spread across the country.
Jobs website Adzuna.co.uk said it was 200 times more difficult to find work in Salford than in Cambridge or Aberdeen.
Eight of the worst places to find a job were in the north, including Salford, Rochdale and Hull, it said.
In November, there were just 1.59 jobseekers per vacancy around the UK, down from 2.36 in January 2013. This was a decrease of a third since the beginning of the year and a 6% monthly fall.
Concerns that the recovery is restricted to hotspots was heightened by a report over the weekend that forecast further falls in public sector employment, badly affecting deprived areas.
The report by analysts at the JobsEconomist predicted that private sector employment (including self-employment) will grow by 450,000 in 2014. The rise in private sector hiring will more than offset a predicted fall in public sector employment of 130,000.
The forecast net increase in total employment of 320,000 is lower than the net increase in 2012 and 2013 on the expectation that employers will increase the hours of more part-time staff to improve labour productivity.
John Philpott, the head of the JobsEconomist, said an overall improvement in the condition of the UK labour market will do little to improve the living standards of most workers, while pressure on employers to pay above the odds for 'top talent' may give rise to workplace disharmony.
He said average weekly earnings growth is expected to rise to 2.4% next year. "With inflation on the CPI measure forecast at 2.2% by the end of the year, 2014 will thus see the end of the post-recession squeeze on real earnings. However, the increase in real pay will be too small to have a perceptible impact on the financial well-being of most employees.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said the UK jobs market was becoming a "tale of two halves", with significantly more vacancies in the south.
Advertised salaries were also being driven down, he said, despite average salaries rising. The report found that the average advertised salary fell by 2.4% over the past year, to £32,651 and graduate salaries fell 15.65% in the year to November. Graduate roles attracted a salary of £26,456.
Hunter said competition for graduate jobs was becoming fierce after a 15% decrease in the number of vacancies since January."Despite signs of a wider job market recovery, the situation remains tough for those who are fresh out of university. Many graduates are being forced to take on lower-skilled jobs and face growing competition for each available role. Such difficult prospects, hand-in-hand with higher tuition fees, spell challenging financial times ahead for recent grads."