The Skills for Care report in 2021 highlighted that there were 178,000 jobs in the adult social care industry, with around 164,000 people working in the industry in the Central region. In the region there was an increase in all service jobs and domiciliary care jobs being filled (2.5% and 4.2% respectively), however, there was a -1.1% decrease in the jobs that were filled in care homes. 5.8% of roles in adult social care were vacant, which is approximately 8,500 jobs.
Turnover rates in the industry, especially in the Central region, are at 27.9% – which is equivalent to around 39,000 people a year leaving their adult social care roles. However, despite this statistic, around 63% of vacant jobs are filled by people who are already working in the sector.
The majority of Central adult social care workers are employed on permanent contracts, with a percentage of 89%. Around 25% of the industry in the Central region are working on zero-hour contracts, with people working in domiciliary care environments making up the highest proportion.
Workforce demographics in the Central region show that around 84% of workers identify as female. Despite this, 82% of female workers are less likely to be in managerial roles within the adult social care industry. Females make up 85% of the roles that provide direct-care to adults.
In terms of wage, adult care workers in the industry earn between £31,400 and £33,300 a year. This is lower than the other regions in England, however the Central region has seen an increase in the hourly rate of adult workers in the social care sector over the past year.
68% of all staff in the industry have engaged with, or are partially completed and working towards, the Care Certificate. Over 71% of people who have this certificate provide domiciliary care services. Furthermore, 49% of workers in the adult social care sector hold a relevant adult social care qualification at either Level 2 or higher. Additionally, 78% of senior care workers in the Central region hold a relevant qualification at Level 2 or above.
