UK job vacancies ‘fall to lowest degree since pandemic’ | UK unemployment and employment statistics

[ad_1] The variety of job vacancies within the UK has tumbled to the bottom degree in 5 years, analysis suggests, falling to ranges not seen because the pandemic.

The variety of jobs being marketed slid by 3% in January to 695,000, in line with the job search website Adzuna, marking the primary time marketed vacancies have dropped beneath 700,000 since January 2021.

Graduate jobs fell beneath 10,000 for the primary time since Adzuna started monitoring this in 2016.

The analysis comes days after official figures confirmed unemployment within the UK had risen to a five-year excessive of 5.2%, at a time when wage development is slowing and issues are growing that younger persons are bearing the brunt of the slowdown in hiring.

The autumn within the variety of vacancies marked a continuation within the downward pattern seen throughout late 2025 and confirmed a 16% slide in contrast with final January and a near-20% fall since six months earlier.

It highlights how sharply job alternatives have shrunk since mid-2025, as employers have reined of their hiring within the face of will increase in nationwide insurance coverage contributions and the minimal wage introduced by Rachel Reeves in her final two budgets.

The additional price of labour for enterprise additionally comes as some corporations are prioritising funding in automation and synthetic intelligence instruments somewhat than recruitment.

This pattern has notably affected younger jobseekers, at a time when unemployment amongst 18- to 24-year-olds rose to 14% within the closing three months of 2025, the best price in 5 years, or almost 11 excluding the pandemic, including to issues that Britain is slipping down the worldwide youth employment league desk.

Whereas the variety of vacancies marketed has declined throughout the UK, the sharpest month-to-month drop was in London, with marketed roles falling by nearly 6% in January.

Competitors for jobs has elevated, the analysis discovered, with 2.4 jobseekers for every emptiness, up from 2.27 in December.

Probably the most searched-for jobs included warehouse employees, healthcare help staff, lorry drivers, labourers and kitchen assistants.

Andrew Hunter, a co-founder of Adzuna, mentioned: “Though competitors for roles stays excessive, these pockets of power recommend companies are starting to adapt to more durable situations and make investments the place it issues. For jobseekers in early 2026, the market stays difficult, with fewer vacancies and intense competitors, however continued wage development suggests employers are nonetheless prepared to pay for the proper expertise.”

Nonetheless, one shiny spot for jobseekers stays wage development. Common marketed salaries rose to £43,289 in January, marking an nearly 6% annual enhance and comfortably outpacing inflation, which fell to three% final month.