Competition for jobs varies wildly across the UK, with 55 jobseekers for each vacancy in some areas and less than one in others.

Hull was named as the most difficult place to find work, with Aberdeen the easiest, according to the study by Adzuna.

Around 55 people chased every vacancy in Hull in 2012, 36 in Sunderland, 25 in Southend, 19 in Wolverhampton and 14 in Bradford.

In contrast, there was less than one jobseeker per vacancy in Aberdeen, Cambridge, Guildford and Reading, and one in Oxford.

London was the best-paying city, with average salaries of over £41,000, followed by Aberdeen (£37,670), Cambridge (£34,009), Slough (£33,415) and Guildford (£32,539).

Supermarkets created more than 30,000 jobs, while other leading employers were named as the Royal Mail, the NHS, Deloitte and Ryanair.

Adzuna predicted the number of part-time jobs will increase 4% in the first few months of next year.