Cowgill said the industry with the highest reduction in jobs offering flexible working arrangements was human resources and recruitment, while other white-collar sectors including consulting have remained far closer to the April peak.

There are far fewer white-collar jobs available than there were this time last year, with the finance, IT and media sectors experiencing the biggest falls.

The number of job advertisements in hospitality and tourism has increased since this time last year, but employment conditions in the sector remain uncertain because it is still adjusting to long-term changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

APAC economist at another jobs site Indeed, Callum Pickering, pointed to a big fall in the participation rate – the share of the population who are in jobs or looking for work – during December. Pickering said the figure had been volatile in recent months, and said overall the labour market appeared to be in good shape.

“It appears as though seasonal hiring patterns have shifted, which has led to stronger-than-anticipated employment growth in both October and November and weaker-than-expected growth in December. View these months collectively though and it becomes apparent that the labour market is still performing very well.”