Travel recruitment firm C&M has brought back its full team from furlough as it reports the busiest time in the job market since the start of the pandemic.

C&M Director Barbara Kolosinka said: “We’ve seen travel job vacancies increase consistently since last November, and the market is now easily the busiest it has been since the start of the pandemic.

“In fact, recruitment levels have picked up so much that we’ve now brought our full team back from furlough to help us deal with the extra activity – and we’re delighted to have them back.

“Despite frustrations about the scale of travel restrictions that remain in place, many travel companies are increasingly taking on top talent to help them cope with a rise in demand.”

The latest statistics from C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment show the number of new travel job vacancies rose again in May and has now increased for seven months in a row.

There was also a strong increase in placements during the month, with May’s total equalling March’s figure to stand as the highest since the pandemic began.

The 6% rise in vacancies marks the highest monthly figure since March 2020, while the total number of new vacancies in the past three months (March to May 2021) has jumped by 143% from the previous quarter (December 2020-February 2021).

Despite this, travel vacancies remain vastly down compared to pre-pandemic levels, with May 2021’s figure dipping 72% from May 2019.