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BRITAIN is on course for a Christmas jobs bonanza with seasonal work expected to hit a record high.
The country’s employment boom is set to continue into the festive season – with thousands of vacancies up for grabs.
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With 66 days still to go until Christmas, the DWP’s jobs portal already has 3,500 jobs listed for the holiday period.
They include everything from a toyshop assistant in Essex to a florist in Devon or a Santa Claus in Peterborough.
More people than ever will have the chance to unwrap a Christmas pay packet this year as employers prepare to recruit for a potential record number of seasonal jobs.
Employment in the UK is still higher than any previous year in the run up to Christmas, with 282,00 more people in work in the last year despite a slight increase in unemployment in the last three months.
But there are already 247,000 vacancies across retail, hospitality and entertainment industries – the biggest festive recruiters, almost 30,000 more than this time five years ago.
Latest figures also show a record 5.2 million people currently working in these industries, a surge of 300,000 since 2014.
XMAS JOB BENEFITS
Employment Minister Mims Davies urged jobseekers to consider the benefits of a festive pay packet. Particularly for the 1.8 million Brits who are economically inactive rather than unemployment, but nonetheless say they want a job.
Ms Davies said: “Unemployment remains below four per cent, almost half that in the Eurozone, but there’s always more we can do to help people still looking to get into employment.
“With the launch of our Christmas jobs portal, it’s clear employers up and down the country are calling for jobseekers to take advantage of new roles.
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“Christmas can be a tough time financially, but it also presents a big opportunity to boost your income, or get your first taste of work – providing massive benefits for building up skills and experience, or even a whole new career.
“With 282,000 more people in work in the last year, more of us will be spending this Christmas with the benefits of a pay packet. But for those who are still looking, go check out the portal for a new opportunity, which could help you to find a job to boost your bank balance just in time for the festive period.”
Launching the portal, Davies met with recruiters from Royal Mail at one of its largest sorting offices in Southampton, which is due to take on 358 temporary workers in the next month – as a part of its national drive to recruit thousands of more temporary workers across its operation during the Christmas and New Year period.
