Chefs and care workers are among the most advertised jobs in Buckinghamshire, new data has shown. 

Figures from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) show chef, care worker and home carer roles were the most advertised positions in the county between April and June. 

They made up 2.1 per cent of live adverts.

These were followed by sales accounts and business development managers (two per cent). 

Across the county, there were 3.4 adverts per 100 people in August, up from 2.5 in 2019 before the pandemic. 

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It comes after 91,930 job posts were made in 2023 with about 56.1 per cent matching the skills of at least one person in the area who was not already working. 

Nationally, the most advertised jobs were care worker and home carer, making up 2.3 per cent of job ads, though these had fallen by 23 per cent from the previous year. 

Adverts for HGV drivers almost doubled in the past year while early education and childcare practitioners jumped 58 per cent. 

The ONS said the level of UK job adverts has been gradually declining since late 2021, and is now similar to pre-pandemic levels at 3.4 adverts per 100 working-age people in August.

Max Mosley, senior economist at NIESR said: "While we would normally be worried about declining job adverts, this more reflects a stabilising labour market after the pandemic than anything to be too concerned about."

He added an increase in the number of people taking early retirement, more workers resigning to upskill, high sickness absence rates, and international workers leaving the UK led to the surge in vacancies in 2021.

"This mismatch between high demand for workers and low supply led to three years of elevated job postings, as companies had to hire more aggressively to find available workers," he continued.

"Since then, the labour market has cooled, and job postings have fallen back to reflect a more stable market."

Despite the return to a more stable job market, a mismatch in demand and supply in the financial and wholesale sectors remains, he added.