UK job vacancies fell in July, dropping to 791,490, according to the latest UK Job Market Report by job matching platform Adzuna. It is the first decline after four consecutive monthly rises reported in Adzuna’s May Job Market Report. The annual decline has widened for the first time since the downturn began easing at the start of the year, moving from -6.84 per cent in May back out to -9.60 per cent in July – suggesting the recovery reported over the spring has gone into reverse.
The report also found the graduate jobs market deteriorating further in July. Graduate vacancies fell to 8,383 – a new record low, undercutting the previous low of 8,398 set in May – and down 45.6 per cent year-on-year. This is part of a sustained multi-year decline from a peak of over 55,000 graduate roles in mid-2017. Average graduate salaries edged up to £25,815 in July, from £25,773 in May.
Entry-level vacancies also fell back, dropping to 192,864 in July – down 8.1 per cent year-on-year and down from May’s 209,448. This reverses the modest positive signal reported in Adzuna’s earlier releases this year, when entry-level roles reached the highest level in the dataset. Average entry-level salaries eased to £38,162, from £38,959 in May.
The report period follows the April 2026 increase to employer National Insurance contributions and the further rise in the National Living Wage, both now three months into effect.
Yet the sectors that powered May’s recovery are still growing. Travel, Teaching and Trade &
Construction – the same three sectors that posted genuine annual vacancy growth in May – all remain in positive territory, joined for the first time by Manufacturing, which turned positive on an annual basis in July. Healthcare & Nursing, Hospitality & Catering and Logistics & Warehouse remain in sharp decline, all still shedding a quarter or more of their vacancies year-on-year.
Salary growth, meanwhile, continues to cool. The average advertised salary fell -0.73 per cent since May to £43,675 in July. Annual salary growth remains positive at +3.01 per cent, comfortably ahead of inflation, but the deceleration seen since May 2025’s peak of +9.38 per cent has now continued for well over half a year. Competition for roles also moved the wrong way for job seekers. Jobseekers per vacancy rose to 2.14 in July, above the 1.93 recorded a year earlier – a reversal after competition had been easing gradually since the start of the year.
Teaching remains one of the largest sectors on Adzuna, with 192,366 vacancies in July – up 11.9 per cent
year-on-year, even as the figure eased back 11.5 per cent since May. Trade & Construction also continues to expand, up 8.3 per cent annually. Travel posted a 348 per cent annual rise; vacancy levels in the sector have held broadly steady since May. Manufacturing turned positive on an annual basis for the first time this year, up 2.2 per cent.
Outside of these pockets of growth, the picture remains difficult. Healthcare & Nursing vacancies are down 30.6 per cent year-on-year, Logistics & Warehouse -28.1 per cent, and Hospitality & Catering -26.8 per cent – three of the UK’s largest employing sectors, all still shedding vacancies even as the sectors above continue to grow.
On pay, IT remains the best-paid and fastest-growing sector by salary, with average advertised salaries reaching £67,771 – up 16.8 per cent annually, the strongest growth of any sector. Sales (+11.3 per cent), HR & Recruitment (+9.8 per cent) and Consultancy (+9.5 per cent) also posted strong annual salary growth. Maintenance (-2.0 per cent) and Teaching (-1.1 per cent) were the only sectors to record an annual salary decline – notable for Teaching, given its vacancies are among the fastest-growing in the market.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of job matching platform Adzuna, said: “July’s numbers are a step
backwards, not a blip. The annual vacancy decline got worse for the first time since January, and
jobseekers per vacancy are now higher than they were a year ago. We’d been watching things improve gradually for months, but that stopped in July. The graduate job market also keeps setting new lows, which tells us employers still haven’t found a reason to open up hiring at that level. It isn’t all bad news. Teaching, Travel and Trade & Construction are still adding roles, and Manufacturing is now doing the same too. But that’s a short list, and everyone outside of these sectors is having a harder time than they were three months ago.’
