Across the country, job vacancies have fallen for the fifth month in a row, sparking a warning that jobseekers face a “turbulent” year looking for work, although Exeter remains one of the best locations for finding work.

Jobs site Adzuna said vacancies fell by 0.46% to 862,294 in March – 17% lower than a year ago.

The decline came as the number of people out of work recently rose to 4.2%, said Adzuna, adding there are now almost two jobseekers per vacancy, the highest figure since August 2021.

Jobs across public relations, advertising and marketing were worst affected last month, dropping by more than 11% compared with February, as companies scale back their marketing spend, said the report.

Trade and construction vacancies fell by 8.2%.

Adzuna said Cambridge, Guildford and Exeter continued to be the best places for vacancies while Bradford, Rochdale and Middlesbrough were the most difficult.

In Bradford there were around seven jobseekers per vacancy, according to the report.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “This new data continues to paint a difficult picture for job hunters in 2024. Vacancies have fallen again in March, unemployment is up and competition is intensifying across most sectors.

“The outlook remains poor too. Adzuna’s data suggests no clear signs of a hiring recovery just yet.”