Since the $10 billion launch of Meta (previously Facebook), job postings have rocketed by 532%, according to jobs website Adzuna.
The UK’s boom, however, is not just powered by Meta and other large tech companies.
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James Neave, head of data science at Adzuna, told HR magazine: “We’re seeing hundreds of companies advertising for positions related to the metaverse.”
While gaming still makes up a large proportion of the market, he said, other industries are investing heavily.
Many companies, like property firm MoveStreets, or ITV with its Metavision Studios, are rushing to buy virtual ‘plots’ in simulated universes, such as The Sandbox, a virtual environment already hosting the likes of Atari and Adidas.
Digital artists, designers, and programmers, will be needed to fuel the rapid increase in demand, said Neave.
He added: “This is likely the start of a much stronger trend.
“The metaverse is becoming ingrained within emerging tech vocabulary and is an area many companies are considering for future growth.”
Jeremy Dalton, head of metaverse technologies at professional services firm PwC, told HR magazine the rise in related positions is unsurprising.
He said: “Considering that we have yet to reach the full potential of the metaverse, both in the business and consumer world, I expect this trend to continue, with one caveat: at some point, we may drop the term metaverse in job titles, as the concept becomes more mainstream and the focus shifts to specialist roles within the metaverse.”
The growth of the metaverse also runs alongside a wider tech recruiting boom.
For example, the number of advertised cryptocurrency roles has risen from 269 to 1,520 in the past year, a jump of 565%.
Dalton added: “Cryptocurrencies (and the wider concept of decentralised finance) is an important component in the ultimate vision of the metaverse.
“I expect to see both grow in tandem, cryptocurrencies offering a trusted medium of transaction in the digital marketplace that is the metaverse.”
