#vacancies

#vacancies

The UK jobs market showed further signs of cooling in September as advertised vacancies dropped -2.4% month-on-month to 826,205 jobs, echoing ONS data that highlights a 39th consecutive period of vacancy decline, according to the latest UK Job Market Report by job matching platform Adzuna. This means open roles are now -4.1% lower than a year ago, and alarmingly, September records the lowest vacancy level this year, suggesting employers are continuing to scale back hiring plans after a strong start to the year.

The steep rise in hospitality wages to a record high will come as a big concern to the sector, particularly following a prolonged period of subdued sales. This puts more pressure on margins, with every £1 increase in wages also leading to additional employers' NIC, resulting in a double whammy on operators' costs.

On one level this data shows a stable labour market performing as expected - albeit not particularly strongly. Unemployment is holding steady and in line with expectations, while wages continue to rise faster than inflation. However, underneath that there are some worrying signs. Vacancies have fallen by 10,000 in the quarter to August, a 38th consecutive fall, and is less than half the number of people currently claiming unemployment benefits.

After vacancies saw their strong annual growth for three years in June, the pendulum swung back in July with roles falling -1.24% month-on-month and a mere uptick of +0.31% year-on-year, according to the latest UK Job Market Report by job matching platform Adzuna. Nevertheless, July marks the fifth consecutive month of positive year-on-year growth, coming after 30 months of declines that lasted till this February.