Vacancies and salaries both fell during July 2025, according to jobs market data from recruitment search engine Adzuna.
The statistics echo official data from earlier in the summer that showed job vacancies are now at their lowest level in a decade, with the UK labour market continuing to weaken.
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The UK Job and Market Report from Adzuna concluded vacancies fell 1.24% in July, to 864,705, while average salaries also fell 0.3% monthly to £42,264.
This contrasted with much healthier data in June, when vacancies had risen 2.68%, the strongest annual growth since July 2022.
However, looking at the situation year on year rather than month by month, July’s figures are still up, said Adzuna, with last month being the fifth consecutive month of positive annual growth.
Healthcare roles were hardest hit in July, falling 25.4% since April, the steepest drop of any sector.
Part of this decline may be due to a sharp fall in the number of health and care worker visas being issued, which fell by 77% in the year ending June 2025, according to the Home Office.
Entry-level roles also hit a five-year low in July, indicating just what a tough market new graduates and school leavers will be entering into this autumn.
Entry-level roles made up just 21.9% of vacancies and, while graduate jobs as a whole rose 2.5% month-on-month, over the year they are down 28%, said Adzuna.
Permanent job openings had fallen by 9% since the National Minimum Wage rose in April, while contract jobs had surged by 22%.
This shift to contract working was most prevalent among corporate sectors, including in accounting and finance, marketing, legal and consultancy, said Adzuna.
Drilling down into the data by sector, trade and construction vacancies were booming, reporting an 11.7% monthly rise in July, following June’s standout 16% growth.
Retail vacancies were also up 2% following June’s 7% increase, as were creative and design jobs (up 3.65%), HR and recruitment (3.41%) and legal (2.4%).
Healthcare and nursing roles, however, dropped for the third consecutive month, down 10.34% month-on-month in July and 8.87% year-on-year. Marketing roles, which had grown in May and June, fell 3.01% in July.
Other notable monthly declines included hospitality and catering (down 8.43%), maintenance (5.01%), social work (4.7%), and sales (2.9%), said Adzuna.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “After a hopeful uptick in June, July saw the pendulum swing back with vacancies falling again. While salary growth remains one of the few consistent positives – continuing to outpace inflation – hiring appetite is clearly uneven.
“The ongoing strength in sectors like construction is in stark contrast to another consecutive monthly drop in healthcare roles – traditionally one of the most stable sectors. This speaks to a market still finding its footing. Until we see greater stability across the board, it’s likely this stop-start pattern will continue,” he added.
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