Increasing job losses amid the pandemic have sparked the sharpest increase in unemployment for more than a decade, but it is not all doom and gloom in the jobs market, especially in the property sector, which is displaying resilience despite the tightening restrictions, according to a recruitment firm specialising in the estate agency industry.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently revealed a 138,000 surge in unemployment between June and August, taking the jobless total to a three-year high of 1.52m as the rate of unemployment jumped to 4.5%, from 4.1% in the previous three months.

The number of people being made redundant in the UK almost doubled in the three months to August, according to the ONS.

The data shows that the volume of redundancies increased by 114,000 to hit 227,000, as Covid-19 continues to hit the economy.

But Alan Mead, founder of specialist estate agency recruitment company AMR Group, has contacted Property Industry Eye to challenge what he sees as “unfounded negativity” that is appearing in the press with “regard to the current job market in the estate agency sector”.

“In short, AMR are not seeing significant redundancies, and nor are we expecting vast numbers of them,” he said.

AMR, which has been specialising in this sector of recruitment for just over 25 years, has offices spread across the UK, giving Mead, the company’s group chairman, what he regards quite understandably as “a rather good overview of what is happening [in the estate agency jobs market].”

He continued: “Since March we have of course seen a change in our volumes of business and especially over the months of March, April and May, but over June and July, there was a steady and progressive return to business and with the number of job opportunities being registered with us of August and September being nearly identical in number to the same months in 2019.”

Mead added: “Our observation is that rather than being short of opportunities, we are not seeing the number of candidates [job seekers] registering with us and with the skills sought by our current clients.

“Of course, not all of the businesses that are presently trading in the property sector may be able to survive the impact of the Covid debacle and especially as we now also move closer to the impact of Brexit on January 1^st 2021, but there are many, many, businesses who are coping very well and have well thought through business plans.

“Personally, if I were an employee in any property related role at the moment, I’d have confidence in the ability of my sector to continue with its success and also, should feel safe in knowing that if I did want to start looking for a new career, there is more chance of me finding a new role, than not.”