January 2024 saw a 111% rise in new travel jobs registered by C&M compared to December 2023, the highest total for five months as the new year recruitment drive got underway. However, last month’s total remained down by 38% on the same month in 2023.

C&M said the volume of candidates searching for new travel jobs saw a big jump in January – up 81% from December. Last month’s total was 14% down on January 2023, but up 15% from January 2022 and just 2% below the pre-pandemic month of January 2020.

January was a slower month for placements, with the number of people securing new travel jobs increasing by just 4% from December. Compared to previous years, last month was 56% below the level seen in January 2023 and down 41% from both January 2022 and January 2020.

Barbara Kolosinska, C&M managing director, said: “We would always expect to see a big monthly increase in activity each January – and last month we saw just that.

“New travel job opportunities more than doubled in the month – which is great news for job seekers – and there was also a big 81% rise in new candidates, which will be very much welcomed by employers.

“What we need to see now is a rise in job placements. Some companies are still taking too long to make decisions and are missing out on quality applicants, while others are severely limiting the available talent pool by not widening their recruitment requirements. Hopefully we will see this change throughout 2024.”