Ryedale is one of the hardest places in the UK to find a job

Job vacancies in the borough have dropped more than 75 per cent since the start of the pandemic and are down 43 per cent compared with this time last year.

Richmondshire, where job vacancies have fallen 68 per cent since the pandemic began, has also been badly affected.

On the other end of the scale the East Riding of Yorkshire has seen a 17 per cent rise in job vacancies since lockdown began, which is thought to be due to more public sector jobs like carers being advertised.

Across Britain new vacancies rose by more than 50 per cent during July, and more than 169,000 vacancies were notified during the first week in August, suggesting a rebound in hiring in some areas and sectors.

There are still nearly half a million fewer vacancies than there were at the start of the crisis – with job openings running at just one third of the level that they were at this time last year. Despite the increase in vacancies, the areas with a high number of people out of work per vacancy have remained consistent.

Ben Sadler, branch manager at recruiter Work With York, which covers the whole of Yorkshire, said his team had been working throughout the pandemic and have noticed a divide between urban and rural areas.

"In terms of the numbers of commercial jobs coming up, there has been a big drop but it is recovering now. Rural areas have suffered the most, particularly for jobs that are in less accible areas.

"Clients are saying people need to drive and have their own transport because of social distancing, which make it difficult to attract younger people to those roles as they're less likely to have a car."

Dave Innes, head of economics at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which commissioned the research, said: “After the uncertainty and worry of lockdown, there are definite signs that parts of the job market have weathered the storm and are now showing signs of recovery. But as before, that recovery is uneven. In areas where there are many people out of work for every vacancy, the government’s Plan for Jobs will have to create new opportunities for people to feel the benefits of recovery.

“Work should offer people a route out of poverty and the chance to build a better life for themselves and their families. It is essential that the recovery reaches people in areas and sectors which are struggling to recover if the Government is to truly level up the economy so that it works for everyone.”

Tony Wilson, director of the Institute for Employment Studies, said: “The recovery in vacancies reported in July appears to have carried on into August, with 170 thousand new jobs notified in the first week of this month. New vacancies are now running at one third below the same time last year, compared with a gap of two thirds just a month ago. The overall level of vacancies is now broadly in line with the picture in the early 2010s as we emerged from the last recession. With data last week showing that over one and a half million people started a new job during lockdown, these figures give us some reassurance that there are jobs out there, and more are becoming available all the time as the economy reopens.”