Data from the latest UK Job Market Report by job search engine Adzuna saw UK job vacancies rise +1.1 per cent in July. This is the first rise this year, up to 862,043 compared to June, bringing the first sign of an improvement in prospects to those seeking a new role. Following positive growth figures and the election of a new government, business confidence rebounded in July which has translated through to increased hiring.
Compared to July 2023, vacancies are still down -17.69 per cent, which demonstrates that the market still has a long way to go to achieve a full recovery. Meanwhile, average advertised salaries are higher compared to last year, up +2.95 per cent to £38,863 whilst month-on-month average advertised salaries increased marginally, up +0.08 per cent.
In a sign of further contractions in the job market, there are now 2.09 jobseekers per vacancy, the highest it has been since May 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jobs are filling at the fastest pace this year, with an average time-to-fill of 35.6 days in July, down from 36 days last month.
While prospects for jobseekers may have improved, salary transparency hit rock bottom in July. The proportion of job adverts with salaries fell to 46.3 per cent in July, the lowest recorded figure since Adzuna started tracking this metric in 2016. Over half (52.3 per cent) of job adverts do not include any salary information.
James Neave, Head of Data Science of Adzuna, commented on the figures saying: “Optimism about the UK economy following higher than expected growth figures and a new government has extended into the jobs market with the first monthly rise in job postings this year in July. An increase of +1.1 per cent may seem small but we’re used to seeing job postings fall during the summer months as companies put hiring plans on pause because of holidays. Confidence is even extending into junior-level hiring with Graduate roles up +3.7 per cent compared to June which is great news for those leaving university. We’ll have to see if this optimism extends into August but it should bring some respite to job hunters for now.”
