Let's take a few figures here shall we as applying for a job is largely a numbers game and a game of numerical chance.

(1) There are approximately 65 million people in the UK; 

(2) The national workforce is half of that, or approximately some 32.5 million people;

(3) As a broad estimate, approximately one million people or 1 in 32 employees in the whole UK have or have expressed a possible interest in pursuing a career in HR;

(4) Out of one million, broadly 500,000 would make any serious steps towards that endeavour;

(5) Half that number again, and the total UK HR professional community of both active CIPD and non CIPD members is broadly around 250,000. 

(6) Half that number yet again and the total affiliated and non affiliated UK HR community, around 125,000 people are either dissatisfied with their current employment and / or looking for or a new job at any given moment in time.

Although the vacancies are also cross advertised on a variety of other sites, LinkedIn gives the best estimate in this regard. 

Today, there are 65,291 HR jobs available nationwide across the UK. 

Therefore, although not too bad odds or just under a 1 in 2 chance, you can immediately see the mismatch in terms of the number of HR professionals and vacancies available, the latter of which around half are all concentrated within London or inside in the M25. 

Thus, its an employers market, they only select the very best, and its just the same case in all other professions such as Law, Marketing, Media, Public Relations etc.

Many organisations also don't have an inhouse HR department but use an outside firm like Peninsula, and with increasing automation and robotisation, HR Consulting can be done remotely as well.

What does this therefore tell us in the fifth largest G8 advanced industrialised and developed economy in the world? 

There is simply not the need nor the demand for millions, let alone hundreds of thousands of HR professionals. It's a relatively small profession with even a smaller amount of vacancies available at any given moment in time which are sustainable to create with the resources and salary bill available.

Finally, let's take a look at the USA, the largest economy and sole economic superpower in the world with approximately 330 million people and a workforce of around 160 million.

Today, there are 244,601 HR jobs available across all 50 US states.