June vacancies see strongest annual growth since 2022

Amid a backdrop of a 4.7% unemployment rate and wider economic slowdown, UK job vacancies saw their fastest annual growth in nearly three years in June, rising +2.68% to 875,546 jobs, signalling progress on hiring confidence, according to the latest UK Job Market Report by job matching platform Adzuna.

This figure not only marks the strongest annual growth since July 2022 – and the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year gains, but it also means month-on-month vacancies are up after two consecutive months of decline, at +1.99%. Even though the total listings remain below pre-pandemic levels.

The increase comes as the UK unemployment rate has risen to a four-year high of 4.7% between March and May 2025. Encouragingly, the economic inactivity rate is falling sharply, now down to 9.1 million, but still above pre-pandemic rates.

Average advertised salaries similarly continued their annual climb in June, reaching £42,397 – up +9.18% year-on-year, despite a marginal drop from May (down £6, or -0.01%). These annual figures extend one of the longest runs of real-terms pay growth since mid-2022, boosted in part by April’s +6.7% increase to the National Minimum Wage.

Summer hiring is strong this year, with 20,839 summer jobs available in June, down -13% year on year. By sector, hiring picked up in several sectors: Trade & Construction surged +16%, Creative & design jobs +8.5%, Retail +7%, Legal jobs +6.2%, IT roles rose +5.1%, and Marketing jobs climbed +5%. In contrast, Healthcare & Nursing roles, which have consistently been one of the biggest drivers of hiring growth, fell again in June, down -7.38% monthly.

The average time to fill a role rose to 36.4 days, up from the previous month’s 35.8 days. While salary transparency stalled, just 43.5% of job ads included pay details, unchanged from May and a signal that progress on employer openness may have reached a plateau.

Sector hiring in June painted a more mixed picture. Construction vacancies rose by +16%, the largest monthly jump of any sector, while IT (+5.1%), Legal (+6.2%), and Marketing (+5%) all saw healthy increases. June marked the second monthly growth for IT roles after years of decline.

At the same time, the downturn in healthcare hiring continued. Healthcare & Nursing vacancies fell -7.4%, compounding the previous month-on-month decline in May of -10.21%. Other sectors saw smaller declines, including Admin (-3.5%) and Scientific & QA (-1.8%), reflecting a softening in both back-office and consumer-facing hiring.

Salaries similarly told a mixed story. Graduate pay rose to £25,666 (+0.9% MoM, +6.1% YoY), and Marketing salaries climbed to £42,233 (+1.31%). But after sustained growth, wages fell in nearly half of all sectors. The biggest month-on-month drops came in Energy, Oil & Gas (-3.25%), Maintenance (-2.79%), and Travel Jobs (-2.65%).

Looking at the bigger picture, year-on-year salary growth remained strong in several categories. Logistics & Warehouse (+20.06%), Teaching (+15.28%), IT (12.05%), Domestic Help & Cleaning (+11.5%) and Customer Service (+10.29%) all posted double-digit increases. Energy, Oil & Gas and Travel were the only sectors to see annual declines, -2.6% and -2.4% respectively.

For early-career workers, the outlook continues to be tough. Graduate job ads rose slightly in June (+3.6%), but are still down -27.2% year-on-year. Meanwhile, entry-level roles – including graduate jobs, apprenticeships, and junior positions – have dropped -30.4% since November 2022, when ChatGPT first launched commercially. Entry-level listings now account for just 24.5% of all UK vacancies, their lowest share since August 2021, though the proportion is down by just -4% compared to Nov 2022

Across the board, hiring times have held largely steady, although IT roles now take an average of 42.7 days to fill, up from 39.9 days last month. This is followed by Energy, Oil & Gas (42 days), Creative & Design (41.0 days), Marketing (39.4 days), while Admin (32.2 days) and Legal (33.2 days) remain the fastest-moving sectors.

Vacancies went up month-on-month across all UK regions in July, with the strongest gains in London (+4.34%), Northern Ireland (+3.8%), and the East Midlands (+2.5%). The biggest summer job openings were within London (5,035 jobs), followed by South England (3,845), and South West England (2,126).

Year-on-year, London also led the way with the strongest year-on-year growth at 5.88%, followed by Eastern England (+4.29%), and South West England (+2.38%). In contrast, Wales (-10.96%) and Scotland had the steepest declines compared to July 2024.

Northern Ireland recorded the strongest salary growth in the UK again in June, with average advertised pay reaching £40,955 – up +14.52% year-on-year. Annual salaries in the region have now increased by double-digit percentage points for five consecutive months.

Northern Ireland was also one of just three regions – alongside Scotland and the South East – to see positive movement across all timeframes, with salaries rising month-on-month (+0.56%). Annual pay growth in Scotland rose +12.11%, with the South East jumping (+10.52%).

London remains the highest-paying region, with average salaries at £48,643, followed by Eastern England (£40,959) and Northern Ireland. In total, eight regions now report average salaries above £40,000, reflecting broad-based wage inflation across the UK.

Northern Ireland remains one of the most competitive regions, with 3.09 jobseekers per vacancy, second only to the North East (3.32) and West Midlands (3.12).

At the other end of the scale, the South West offers the least competition, with 1.3 jobseekers per vacancy, followed by the South East (1.43) and Eastern England (1.64). (please see appendix)

Healthcare Support Worker held onto the top spot in Adzuna’s Trending Jobs list for June, maintaining its lead in the Interest Quotient rankings for the seventh month running. Social Care Worker remained in second place, while Warehouse Worker climbed back to third. This ranking is based on the Interest Quotient, a metric that tracks how often job postings are viewed relative to other occupations. A higher quotient reflects stronger interest among jobseekers.

Healthcare Assistant and Sales Assistant rounded out the top five, as entry-level roles continued to dominate jobseeker attention. Project Manager and Software Developer both remained in the top 10 after fluctuations throughout 2025.

Further down the list, roles like Receptionist, Assistant, and Cleaner – in 8th, 9th, and 10th respectively – continued to attract steady interest. Notably, Labourer and Administrator, both present in earlier months, dropped out of the top rankings.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of job matching platform Adzuna, said, “June marked a potential turning point for the UK job market. Monthly vacancies rose month-on-month finally, and we saw the strongest annual growth in three years – a sign that confidence may be slowly returning.

“Salaries also continue to climb above inflation, and working-age inactivity is finally reversing its post-pandemic trend with numbers down to 9.1m and the rate down to 21%. Both of which are a step in the right direction and show that the UK labour market is making progress. However, demand is still patchy.

“While hiring is picking up in sectors like tech and construction, the drop in healthcare vacancies – one of the most resilient parts of the market – is something to watch. A sustained recovery will depend on strengthening employer confidence and making sure new roles emerge in areas where the workforce is most needed.”