UK Employment & Recruitment Insights
691,000
UK vacancies
Estimated vacancies in July to September 2026, down 21,000 or 2.9% from the previous quarter.
20.9%
Economic inactivity rate
The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 who were economically inactive, June to August 2026.
3.7%
Annual regular pay growth
Average regular earnings increased by 3.7% year-on-year in June to August 2026.
These figures are from the latest ONS labour-market releases.
Pay & Earnings
UK Job Vacancies
The UK Labour Market at a Glance
£707
Average weekly regular earnings in August 2026
£757
Average weekly total earnings in August 2026
0.6%
Real regular pay growth after CPIH inflation
The ONS reports that private-sector regular earnings growth was 3.0%, while public-sector regular earnings growth was 6.3% over the same period
There were an estimated 691,000 vacancies across the UK in July to September 2026.
This represented:
↓ 21,000
2.9% decrease from the previous quarter
↓ 37,000
5.1% decrease compared with a year earlier
The vacancy rate was 2.1% during the period. There were approximately 2.4 unemployed people per vacancy in June to August 2026.
The UK labour market has remained broadly flat during 2026, with relatively small movements in employment and unemployment.
The employment rate increased slightly to 75.3%, while the unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.7% in the latest three-month period.
At the same time, vacancy numbers have continued to soften. There were an estimated 691,000 vacancies in July to September 2026, the first time the total has fallen below 700,000 since February to April 2021.
Our Perspective
Statistics provide useful context, but recruitment is ultimately about people.
Employment levels, vacancy numbers and salary growth can help explain the wider market, but they do not tell the whole story behind an individual hire.
The availability of the right candidate can vary considerably depending on the role, industry, location, level of responsibility and experience required.
Our approach is therefore focused on understanding the individual requirements of each business rather than relying solely on headline market statistics.
Sources & Methodology
The statistics presented on this page are based primarily on data published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) and related HM Revenue & Customs PAYE Real Time Information data.
The figures are updated periodically and may be revised by the relevant statistical authorities.
