UK job vacancies experienced their fastest annual growth in nearly three years during June, according to new figures that serve as a “cautiously optimistic counterpoint” to recent ONS figures.
That’s according to data from job matching platform Adzuna, which shows that the number of vacancies rose by 2.68 percent year-on-year to 875,546, representing the highest annual growth rate since July 2022 and the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year gains. Month-on-month vacancies also increased by 1.99 percent, following two months of decline, although overall listings remain below pre-pandemic levels.
This growth in vacancies coincides with a rise in the UK unemployment rate to 4.7 percent between March and May 2025, its highest level in four years. However, the economic inactivity rate has fallen, with the number of economically inactive people dropping to 9.1 million. Despite this progress, the figure remains above pre-pandemic levels.
Salaries have also continued to grow, with average advertised pay reaching £42,397 in June. This represents a 9.18 percent year-on-year increase, although it reflects a marginal drop of £6 compared to May. The figures suggest that real-terms pay growth is continuing, supported in part by the April increase in the National Minimum Wage.
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While total summer job availability fell by 13 percent compared to last year, 20,839 summer jobs were still advertised in June. Several sectors saw notable hiring increases, including trade and construction, which rose by 16 percent, creative and design by 8.5 percent, retail by 7 percent, legal by 6.2 percent and IT by 5.1 percent. Healthcare and nursing jobs, which have historically seen strong demand, dropped again, this time by 7.38 percent.
Construction and IT lead recovery while entry-level hiring stays low
Construction vacancies experienced the highest sectoral growth in June, rising by 16 percent. IT, legal and marketing roles also saw growth for a second month. However, healthcare and nursing saw another monthly fall, compounding May’s decline of 10.21 percent. Other sectors, such as administration and scientific roles, recorded smaller declines of 3.5 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
Salary trends varied across sectors. Graduate pay increased to £25,666, up 0.9 percent month-on-month and 6.1 percent year-on-year. Marketing salaries rose by 1.31 percent to £42,233. However, wages declined in several industries, including energy, oil and gas (down 3.25%), maintenance (down 2.79%) and travel (down 2.65%).
Despite these monthly fluctuations, annual salary growth remained strong in sectors such as logistics and warehouse (up 20.06%), teaching (15.28%), IT (12.05 percent), domestic help and cleaning (11.5%) and customer service (10.29%). The energy and travel sectors were the only ones to record year-on-year pay decreases.
Graduate job adverts increased by 3.6 percent in June, although they remain down 27.2 percent year-on-year. Entry-level roles, including apprenticeships and junior jobs, have dropped 30.4 percent since November 2022. These positions now account for 24.5 percent of all UK job listings, the lowest proportion since August 2021.
Average hiring times were largely unchanged, although IT roles now take 42.7 days to fill, up from 39.9 days. Energy, creative, marketing and legal roles followed closely, while administration positions remained the fastest to fill at 32.2 days.
Regional growth led by London and Northern Ireland
Vacancy growth was recorded in every UK region in June. London saw the strongest month-on-month increase at 4.34 percent, followed by Northern Ireland at 3.8 percent and the East Midlands at 2.5 percent. London also led in year-on-year growth at 5.88 percent, followed by Eastern England and the South West. Wales experienced the largest decline compared to July 2024, down 10.96 percent.
Northern Ireland continued to record the highest annual salary growth at 14.52 percent, with average advertised salaries reaching £40,955. The region has now seen five consecutive months of double-digit pay growth. Scotland and the South East also posted strong annual gains at 12.11 percent and 10.52 percent respectively. London remains the highest-paying region overall, with average salaries of £48,643.
Eight UK regions now report average salaries above £40,000, pointing to a broad trend of wage inflation. However, competition remains uneven. Northern Ireland had 3.09 jobseekers per vacancy, trailing only the North East (3.32) and West Midlands (3.12). The South West was the least competitive, with 1.3 jobseekers per vacancy.
Entry-level roles dominate jobseeker interest
Healthcare Support Worker was the most searched job in June, topping Adzuna’s Trending Jobs list for the seventh consecutive month. Social Care Worker held second place, while Warehouse Worker returned to third. Sales Assistant and Healthcare Assistant rounded out the top five.
Other roles such as Receptionist, Assistant and Cleaner remained popular, while Labourer and Administrator fell out of the rankings. Software Developer and Project Manager stayed within the top ten, reflecting sustained interest across different job categories.
“June marked a potential turning point for the UK job market. Monthly vacancies rose, and we saw the strongest annual growth in three years – a sign that confidence may be slowly returning,” said Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna. “Salaries also continue to climb above inflation, and working-age inactivity is finally reversing its post-pandemic trend with numbers down to 9.1 million and the rate down to 21 percent.
“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.”
