The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a rapid shift in nearly all areas of society.
As well as causing significant job losses or furlough cases in many industries, it has thus resulted in job increases throughout other sectors as people try to reskill and branch into other areas of employment.
In LinkedIn’s recently published Emerging Jobs report, the professional networking platform outlines the jobs that have been on the rise throughout the last year with many people turning to freelancing full-time.
The top five are as follows:
1. E-commerce
The Covid lockdown saw the number of people ordering online groceries double from 2019, thus causing a 143% increase in e-commerce related hires. Amazon was the top hiring company for this sector in 2020.
2. Healthcare Supporting Staff
2020 saw a 104% growth in healthcare supporting staff such as home health aides for the elderly or vulnerable, due to the social distancing measures put in place by the pandemic. These roles were needed as many UK patients were reluctant or unable to visit their doctors in hospitals or medical centres. 73% of those hired into these roles were female.
RELATED: Average NI jobseeker rejected 13 times during pandemic, new resources available to help
3. Digital Content Freelancers
Digital Content Freelancers grew by 118% in 2020 as many people turning to freelancing after being made unemployed. Podcast listenership in the UK reached an estimated 15.6 million listeners in 2020, providing opportunities for podcast creators along with video producers.
4. Construction
Commercial construction projects may have stopped due to the coronavirus crisis, but the tiered lockdown combined with the UK government’s cut in stamp duty gave UK home builders the incentive to push ahead with projects. This resulted in a 132% growth in roles in 2020, the majority of which were self-employed, with 31% of those hired holding an MA degree or higher.
RELATED: 50 apprenticeships announced as part of NI Covid recovery
5. Creative Freelancers
The UK’s creative industries have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic, but companies have relied on creative freelancers to work on a project-basis in an agile way, reflected in 2020’s 69% growth of such roles. Creative freelance writers saw a 115% growth with more companies wanting increased high-quality content to enhance their digital presence.
The remaining ‘jobs on the rise’ that LinkedIn noted were specialist medical experts, professional and personal coaches and mental health specialists, as well as roles in social media and digital marketing, customer service, education, real estate, specialised engineering and artificial intelligence (AI).
RELATED: Selazar: 'Levelling the ecommerce playing field for small-to-medium businesses'
Check out Sync NI's Jobs and Careers pages for the latest tech roles across Northern Ireland.
