There was a solid bounce back in job postings in September after the traditional summer holiday slowdown, according to the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) monthly Labour Market Tracker.
The number of new job postings in the UK in September 2025 was 742,967 – up by 11.3 per cent from August 2025. And the overall number of active job postings was 1,638,924 – an increase of 10.6 per cent on the number of job postings in August 2025. Overall, the job market remains resilient with active job postings staying steady above 1.4 million.
A rise in September activity is not a given: in September 2024, there were 1,544,753 active job postings, which is 9.6 per cent fewer than in August 2024, reflecting the slowdown in the market we saw last year. By contrast, between September 2024 and September 2025, postings rose by 5.5 per cent, indicating a more stable picture on hiring starting to emerge.
“Recruiters reported a trickle of hiring firms coming back to the market in September, especially in the Midlands and the North,” noted REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry. “This data appears to back this up. While small, this bounce back is solid and especially encouraging for an embattled hospitality sector and roles in logistics and light industrial work. Both of these are associated with employers beginning to prepare for a busy festive season.
“To build a trickle of new hiring into a river, employers will need to feel more confident in the economic outlook,” he continued. “That is why the upcoming Budget needs to back business, not burden it. That means no unaffordable tax hikes, sensible updates to the Employment Rights Bill to ensure it is deliverable, genuine support for flexible working and action to fix the recruitment costs fuelled by the NHS’s anti-agency measures.”
Today’s Labour Market Tracker shows an increase in job postings this month for Postal Workers, Mail Sorters, Messengers and Couriers (108.1 per cent), Head Teachers and Principals (57.5 per cent) and Educational Support Assistants (39.8 per cent)
But Registered Specialist Nurses (-11.0 per cent), Optometrists (-13.7 per cent) and Midwifery Nurses (-16.5 per cent) all showed the largest decrease in roles from August to September 2025.
The number of total hospitality job postings increased by 11.0 per cent from August to September 2025.
The highest increase in job postings included: Leisure and Sports Managers and Proprietors (25.7 per cent), Waiters and Waitresses (18.1 per cent) and Bar and Catering Supervisors (12.1 per cent), which follows a 13.0 per cent increase in job postings for Waiters and Waitresses in August 2025.
