Every month, we share the latest labour market trends based on statistics from the ‘UK Report on Jobs’ by KPMG and Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) as well as our own first-hand experience from within our regions.
The report is compiled by S&G Global, based on a monthly questionnaire sent to a panel of approximately 400 UK recruitment and employment agencies – including ourselves.
Key Points
Candidate availability continues to rise
Slower growth in starting salaries and temp wages
Demand for workers (temp and perm) declines overall
Unemployment rates creep upwards
Candidate Availability
Redundancies, along with concerns over job security, continue to be reported as the main driving factors behind increased numbers of people looking for work.
Wage growth slows
Starting salaries for permanent roles have risen at the slowest rate seen for four and a half years. But they are still rising. This is being attributed to increasing candidate availability, therefore less competition to hire, along with budget constraints.
Temp and Perm Vacancies Decline
The number of available vacancies has been declining since November 2023, but July 2025 saw the sharpest decline so far, across both permanent and temporary roles. Compared to last month, it hasn’t been a huge change, but job postings are down over 17% on the same time last year.
Unemployment Rates
Unemployment rates have crept up to 4.7%, meaning there are approximately 2.3 people per available vacancy. At its tightest point in 2022, we hit 1 person per vacancy.
Summary
Month on month, the trends are continuing on their same trajectory, showing an overall loosening in the labour market. More candidates continue to be available, with less recruitment happening. Wage growth is slowing, but has yet to stop – will we hit this tipping point? And if we do, what will happen to interest rates? Typically, the summer months can be a slower time for recruitment, so the final quarter of the year is shaping up to be interesting.