Highlights
- Online job adverts down 15.2 per cent year-on-year in November, biggest drop of 2025, with fifth consecutive monthly decline.
- Graduate positions worst hit with nearly 45 per cent annual vacancy collapse as AI adoption impacts entry-level roles.
- Average advertised salaries rise to £42,687 despite hiring freeze, with IT sector wages up 12.7 per cent.
Britain's labour market deteriorated significantly last month as online job vacancies plummeted by 15.2 per cent annually the sharpest decline of 2025 while advertised salaries continued rising, creating a complex challenge for policymakers at the Bank of England.
Job search website Adzuna reported that online job adverts fell by 6.4 per cent from October, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
The unemployment rate has climbed to 5.1 per cent in the three months to October, its highest level since 2021, as employers turned increasingly cautious about hiring.
British companies became more wary about recruitment following the introduction of higher social security contributions in April as part of finance minister Rachel Reeves' first budget last year.
Concerns about potential further tax increases in her second budget in late November have compounded the hiring freeze.
Graduate jobs have suffered the steepest decline, with vacancies sliding almost 45 per cent over the past 12 months. The adoption of artificial intelligence by companies seeking to reduce workforce size is viewed as a key factor behind the collapse in entry-level positions, three years after ChatGPT's launch.
Wage growth paradox
Despite the hiring slump, wage growth continues to accelerate. Adzuna data shows advertised salaries rose by 7.7 per cent year-on-year to reach an average of £42,687 in November, up from 7.3 per cent growth the previous month.
Public sector wages are growing nearly twice as fast as private sector salaries, with the IT sector leading at 12.7 per cent annual growth, making it the best-paid sector. Only two sectors showed falling pay.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, noted, "2025 has been one of the toughest environments for jobseekers across almost every corner of the market, particularly among people entering the market for the first time. One glimmer of light is that wage growth continues to counteract the vacancy slump."
The contrasting trends of falling vacancies alongside rising wages present a significant dilemma for the Bank of England, which cut interest rates last week after economic weakening but remains concerned about inflation.
