Healthcare and accountancy vacancies long open

Flow-through in healthcare creates problems. Accountants and bookkeepers are in high demand due to the pandemic. Almost every sector is tight right now, with the result that nearly half of all job openings remain open for more than two months. Long-term vacancies are those for jobs in healthcare and financial services. This is according to research by Indeed, which analyzed job postings on its website by the length of time vacancies remain open.

"Vacancies are not easily filled because few job seekers are looking for a new job. Those with paid jobs hesitate to switch," notes Arjan Vissers, responsible for strategy at Indeed. "For example, we normally see an increasing number of transfers after a summer vacation. That increase has so far failed to materialize. With a lot of long-term vacancies as a result."

Healthcare sector barely gets vacancies filled

The list of long-term vacancies is largely dominated by healthcare vacancies. Indeed's analysis shows that it is a large proportion of nursing and physician vacancies currently not being filled within two months. "It is worrisome for an industry when vacancies are not filled," Vissers said. "In home care, for example, it takes an employer longer than two months to find a nurse or nurse practitioner in almost seventy percent of cases. The fact that vacancies just don't get filled exposes the structural problem in healthcare: the flow and influx of healthcare personnel is barely picking up."

High demand for accountants and bookkeepers

Last year, the hardest-to-fill vacancy was that of supermarket branch manager. That vacancy is still on the list: half of supermarket manager vacancies remain open for more than two months. Last year it was more than ninety percent. This year, the accountant vacancy ranks as the hardest-to-fill vacancy: in 85 percent of cases, the (chartered) accountant vacancy remains open for more than two months. The top ten most difficult-to-fill vacancies include three accountant vacancies. Not only accountant vacancies, but vacancies for accountants and financial controllers also remain open for long periods of time.

Vissers: "It is striking that many of the vacancies that are open for a relatively long period of time, such as those of accountant or nurse, require a recognized education. This means that employers can only find staff in a select group and they are therefore constantly fishing in the same pond. While workers today are actually less willing to change jobs. This makes those job openings stay open even longer."