There was a significant increase in active job postings in January – the first time that job postings have risen since June 2024.
The findings suggest that it’s premature for business to be pessimistic about prospects for the year, said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, which compiled the figures as part of its latest labour market tracker with Lightcast.
The number of overall active job postings in January 2025 was 1,516,535 – an increase of 7.2% on the number of job postings in December 2024.
Every region in the UK saw a rise in active job postings, the largest rise was in the East Midlands (11.7%) and the smallest was in London (3.4%).
The UK’s labour market
CIPD finds sharp fall in confidence
The number of new job postings in the UK was 738,040 – up by 34.4% on December 2024. This compares favourably to the 27.9% increase in new postings in January 2024 (from December 2023).
According to the REC, the new figures indicate cautious optimism in some sectors, but does not necessarily signal a broad or fast recovery.
REC deputy chief executive Kate Shoesmith said: “It is too soon for gloom about the UK economy’s prospects overall for 2025” because the increase in job postings was a clear sign that employers would hire when they needed to.
She added: “A 34.4% increase in new jobs signals a solid rebound in demand, showing that businesses remain resilient, despite both domestic and international headwinds. We will look closely in the coming months to see if we are looking at a broader turn.
“The government’s increased focus on economic growth is encouraging, but fostering business confidence requires tangible actions, not just rhetoric. Ongoing fiscal uncertainty, looming national insurance increases, and a potentially burdensome employment rights framework may yet dampen momentum. For real growth, businesses need a clearer strategy on how government industrial policies will truly drive economic progress.”
Among key sectors examined by the REC, the IT sector saw a 1.3% increase in the number of job postings from December 2024 to January 2025 with IT quality and testing professionals (15.6%) particularly in demand.
Construction saw a 13% increase from December 2024 with 100,000 job postings. Most in demand were stonemasons and related trades (48%), steel erectors (23%) and carpenters and joiners (20%).
There were more than 160,000 jobs posted in the retail sector, an increase of 4% on December 2024.
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