Stories

Tue, 18 Aug 2026

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 Job vacancies at five-year low as smaller firms scale back recruitment

Small firms cite labour and operating costs as reasons for scaling back hiring, the UK's statistics body says.

* Job vacancies have fallen to their lowest level in over five years, with 707,000 available positions.
* Small businesses are citing rising labor and operating costs as reasons for cutting back on recruitment.
* Earnings growth has picked up slightly, but private sector wages grew at their slowest rate for nearly six years.
* Regular earnings (excluding bonuses) grew by 3.5% in the three months to June.
* Pay growth for the public sector was 6.1%, while in the private sector it dipped to 2.8%.
* The number of payrolled employees fell by 13,000 in June and early estimates suggest a further drop in July.
* Unemployment remains at 4.9% and the labor market is "little changed overall".
* The UK economy grew by 0.4% between April and June, but analysts expect growth to slow in the second half of the year.
* There are few signs of pay growth generating inflationary pressures, making it unlikely that interest rates will increase in September.