Overview
- Adzuna data show online job ads fell 2.1% in August from July and 1.3% year on year to 846,567, with roughly two jobseekers per vacancy as unemployment holds near 4.7%.
- Average advertised pay rose 0.2% on the month and 8.9% on the year to £42,367, leaving wage growth well above inflation and complicating the Bank of England’s rate-cut calculus.
- The CBI reports firms expect weaker activity over the next three months, citing the April rise in employer social contributions and nerves over the 26 November budget.
- Graduate openings are down by about 35% on the year, while vacancies fell sharply in healthcare and teaching and increased for warehouse, domestic help and cleaning, and HR and recruitment roles.
- Pay transparency is slipping, with Indeed reporting only 56% of postings disclosing wages in August, the lowest since early 2022, as average time to fill a role stretched to 37.3 days.