Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsJob creation and lossesLabour marketPay & benefitsRecruitment & retention

UK vacancies fall below one million for first time in two years

by Adam McCulloch 18 Dec 2023
by Adam McCulloch 18 Dec 2023 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

For the first time in two years, UK vacancies have fallen below one million, according to an early snapshot of the UK job market, signalling a decline in confidence ahead of the festive break.

According to the UK Job Market Report by job search engine Adzuna, after consistently growing through the first half of 2023, salaries and vacancies have fallen significantly in the second.

HR and recruitment and graduate recruiting have had a particularly difficult year. HR and recruitment jobs have been consistently falling month on month since January when jobs fell by 14.52% compared with the month before. In November, available jobs in HR and recruitment were down by 42.5% compared with a year before.

In November, overall UK job advertisements fell 2.72% compared with October, and are down 8.55% compared with last year.

Adzuna’s figures support those of the ONS earlier this month.

UK vacancies in November 2023

ONS: Pay growth falling as vacancies continue to drop

Pay growth slowing, but still above inflation

One in four UK jobs are ‘bad’ jobs

Salaries have risen for the first time since June – up 0.74% compared with October and nearly 2% higher than last year.

However, 2023 has also been the worst year on record for salary transparency – fewer than half of jobs advertised since July have disclosed a salary (48.95% on average).

According to Adzuna, the trends point to a significant dive in company confidence, with advertised vacancies falling by 2.72% between October and November to just 998,562 postings.

While falling vacancies suggest the UK’s jobs market is stalling, Adzuna found that advertised salaries were rising for the first time since June. They were up 0.74% in November, seeing average advertised salaries of £37,221.

London continues to be the only region in the UK seeing annual declines in average advertised salaries, down 2.02% in November.

East Midlands saw the highest year-on-year growth in November, overtaking Northern Ireland and Yorkshire and Humber, which have been consistently two of the top regions for salary growth throughout 2023. This growth in the East Midlands has been driven by an increase in average salaries in Leicester, up 6.77% to £34,781.

With one of the worst years on record for salary transparency, it’s still difficult for potential recruits to understand compensation for the roles they’re applying for” – Andrew Hunter, Adzuna

Leeds has consistently been one of the top cities outside London for high salaries but experienced a slight fall in advertised salaries (-0.14%) between October and November to £38,397. The city has even been overtaken by the likes of Cambridge (£39,432), Oxford (£39,454) and Reading (£40,305), which now offer the highest salaries outside of the capital.

Teaching has been the largest recruiting sector on Adzuna throughout 2023. At its highest level, in June, there were 120,000 teaching vacancies, up 34.1% from June 2022. The average advertised salary also hit its highest in June, reaching £31,695.

IT has also seen a significant slowdown in recruiting. Apart from June when monthly vacancies increased 0.11%, the IT sector has seen recruitment numbers drop consistently. In November, demand for IT jobs was 31.4% lower than in November 2022, yet it is still the third-highest recruiting sector on Adzuna, with 86,7850 roles available, behind engineering (88,294) and teaching.

On average, it takes 35.8 days to fill new roles, the highest it has been for the past three months.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “Salaries appear to be rising again yet with one of the worst years on record for salary transparency, it’s still difficult for potential recruits to understand compensation for the roles they’re applying for. As we head into 2024, finding a job will likely stay tough for the first part of the year.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

 

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today


Browse more human resources jobs

Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
Australia to ban engineered stone over silicosis fears
next post
How HR is driving real estate decisions for workplaces

You may also like

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

Pay awards in real terms could fall for...

21 May 2025

UK and EU agree to collaborate on ‘youth...

19 May 2025

Immigration white paper: which jobs will be affected?

19 May 2025

Public sector needs 92,000 more workers to remain...

19 May 2025

Burberry puts 1,700 jobs at risk in cost-cutting...

14 May 2025

ONS: Slower wage growth but rising unemployment

13 May 2025

Downturn in hiring activity eased in April

12 May 2025

CIPD links Employment Rights Bill with low business...

12 May 2025

UK-US deal saves ‘thousands’ of jobs in car...

9 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+