London can look like two labour markets at once. One is visible in the offices, shops, hospitals and transport networks that need people to keep the city running. The other is experienced by applicants: repeated forms, uncertain responses and the nagging suspicion that a vacancy does not necessarily mean a realistic opening.

The October evidence gives both experiences some support. London’s unemployment rate was estimated at 6.6% in June to August, against 4.7% across the UK. Yet the capital’s three-month average of online job postings for September was about 112,000, up around 2,300 on the same period a year earlier. These are different measures, covering different things. Together they describe a market in which opportunities can exist while access remains difficult. GLA Economics’ October labour market update sets out the distinction.

That is the backdrop to the London Careers Fair at Hornsey Town Hall on Friday 6 November. The sensible reason to attend is to find out more than an advert can tell you: whether a role is genuinely suitable, which requirements matter and what happens next. In a market like this, better information is a serious asset.

A large city is not a single market

Start with the apparent contradiction. An unemployment rate measures people seeking and available for work as a share of the economically active population. Online postings measure advertisements. Neither tells an individual how many attainable jobs sit within their skills, travelling distance, available hours and pay requirements.

A person seeking daytime work in north London cannot necessarily take a night shift on the other side of the capital. Someone with years of customer-facing experience may have the judgement for an operational role without recognising themselves in its job title. A vacancy can be real and still fail to become a workable match.

The payroll figures add a further caution. The GLA’s provisional September estimate put London’s payrolled employment 0.7% below a year earlier. It also warns against treating short-term movements in the Labour Force Survey as a settled trend, because sampling variability can be substantial. An apparent improvement in one headline is therefore a reason to investigate, not a declaration that the market has turned. The GLA briefing explains those limitations.

For jobseekers, the implication is practical. Search by the work you can do as well as the title you have held. An administrator’s scheduling experience, a retailer’s handling of difficult conversations or a warehouse worker’s stock-control knowledge may matter in adjacent roles. The test is whether you can show the connection clearly enough for an employer to assess it.

The recruitment channel matters too

A second distinction is between demand for workers and the route through which it appears. In the September KPMG and REC survey, published on 8 October, recruitment consultancies reported a sharp fall in London’s temporary billings even as permanent placements improved nationally. The survey covers a panel of around 400 consultancies; it is an indicator of their activity, rather than a count of every employer’s hiring. The REC’s report is useful precisely because it shows how uneven a national story can be.

That unevenness argues for several routes into a search. A job board provides searchable detail and an application record. An employer’s own website can clarify the process. A careers event provides a place to test assumptions before spending an evening on the wrong application.

There is some grounded support for simpler routes. The CIPD’s guidance on recruiting young people and non-graduates draws on University of Sheffield employer interviews from 2025. It describes examples of shorter applications and direct conversations after college careers talks. These are qualitative examples, not proof that every event produces better hiring outcomes. They do show employers finding value in meeting people whom a lengthy form might fail to reveal. The CIPD guide explains the approach.

Use a conversation to resolve a decision

The most productive question at a stand may be a narrow one. Is the vacancy based at a particular site? Is the shift pattern fixed? Is the qualification essential on arrival, or is training available? What evidence would persuade the hiring manager that someone from another sector could do the work?

These questions let both sides move beyond a polished introduction. They also allow you to rule something out without treating that as a failed visit. Discovering that a role requires travel you cannot manage is useful information obtained early.

Prepare one brief example of work you have done well. In a hypothetical customer-service application, describing how you resolved a booking error, kept the customer informed and prevented a repeat is more useful than simply calling yourself a strong communicator. Keep any figures accurate; an honest account of responsibility is better than a borrowed statistic.

For employers, the same principle runs in reverse. Explain the real working week. Distinguish essential requirements from things a new colleague can learn. If a promising candidate lacks one credential, say whether there is a legitimate training route rather than leaving them to infer a rejection.

Plan the visit around the next step

The London Careers Fair takes place at Hornsey Town Hall, The Broadway, Crouch End, London, N8 9JJ, from 10am to 2pm on 6 November. Candidate entry is free. Use the event page for registration and the current venue information; plan the journey around your own travel and accessibility needs.

Before attending, look through The UK Careers Fair Jobs Board and note the kinds of work that interest you. Check each employer and event link rather than assuming every organisation on the board will be in the room. After a useful conversation, write down the role, the person’s name, the agreed application route and any deadline.

The ambition should be concrete: leave knowing which opportunities deserve your time and what evidence each requires. London’s aggregate statistics cannot make that decision for you. A well-prepared conversation can make it considerably clearer.

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