Timing of Easter cited as travel placements drop to year-low in April

The number of job candidates finding new roles fell to a year-low in April, with the number of new vacancies also falling on the prior month and on the same period last year.

The dips in statistics issued by C&M Travel Recruitment were largely attributed to the timing of this year’s Easter holiday, which fell mainly in March last year.

The specialist noted a 16% month-on-month increase in new travel jobseekers between March and April despite the drops in vacancies and placements, although that figure remained 1% down on April 2024.

The number of new vacancies listed with C&M in the month was 11% down on March and 8% down on April 2024.

The number of placements dropped by 38% on the previous month, ensuring April was the lowest month of the year so far in that metric.

Barbara Kolosinska, C&M co-owner and managing director, said: "There was no doubt that the Easter holidays impacted the travel recruitment market last month – and with many candidates and decision makers on holiday, it’s no huge surprise.

"However, there were still a very positive number of new candidates beginning their travel search with last month seeing the second highest April tally since 2018.

“Despite the double bank holidays in May, hopefully we will see this increase in new applicants convert into some positive job placement momentum for the rest of spring and into summer.”

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