In August, the UK’s tightening job market saw a record-breaking competition for new positions. A sharp increase in the number of benefit claimants was also seen due to redundancies and long term sickness.
Adzuna’s latest UK Job Market Report highlights these findings, as well as the fact that the number of jobseekers for every vacancy in August was at its highest level since May 2021.
Adzuna data show that the UK job market reached its peak competition in August 2024. There were 2,09 applicants per vacancy. This was the highest level for three years. The job market stagnated after a small increase in unemployment, and then a decline in vacancies. The number of job ads dropped 0.5% from July to August 2023. In total, 857,765 vacancies were posted last month.
The increasing competition for jobs was fueled by the entry of 154,000 new claimants on the market between June 2024 and August 2024. This increase was a result of redundancies and illnesses that have lasted a long time. The average advertised salary remained unchanged at PS38,892, an increase of 3.17% on the previous year. salary disclosure is still a problem, as 53% of ads do not include salary information. This makes it difficult for job seekers to find suitable positions.
Reports show that companies are cautious about hiring new employees. Job postings remain open on average for 35,8 days. The shortest duration of postings was for legal roles, at 31.3, and the longest, 45, were for energy, oil, and gas positions.
Travel saw the biggest drop in vacancies with a 10.94% decrease, followed by Sales and Accounting. In contrast, sectors like graduate, domestic cleaning and help, and hospitality and caterer saw positive growth. The number of graduate job vacancies has increased for the 4th consecutive month. This is encouraging news for recent graduates.
“The stasis of the market, with almost constant vacancies, suggests that companies are only hiring for specific roles.” – Andrew Hunter Adzuna
Northern Ireland had the most competition with 5,62 job seekers per vacancy. The south west and south-east of England, however, had the least. Wales had the lowest average salary increase compared to August 2023.
Adzuna’s list of trending jobs, which tracks job seekers’ interest, shows that warehouse and cleaning roles remain the most popular for the 15th consecutive month and the third consecutive month, respectively.
Andrew Hunter, Adzuna co-founder, said that August’s stagnation in the number of vacancies was a return to normalcy after July’s temporary recovery. He said: “The stagnation in the market, with almost constant vacancies, suggests that companies are only hiring for specific roles. Instead they wait to see if economic growth picks up through the autumn before embarking upon growth and expansion.”
Tony Wilson, Director of the Institute for Employment Studies said that the leveling of vacancies could reassure Bank of England regarding future interest rate reductions. He said that the Adzuna vacancy numbers are disappointing for those who were hoping to see greener shoots during the summer. Stepping back, however, it appears that vacancies have leveled off around 850,000. The competition for jobs has returned to normal levels, and employers are filling jobs fairly quickly. This should give the Bank of England more confidence in future interest rate reductions.”
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