Early ONS estimates show UK vacancies dropped by 6,000 to 707,000 in the three months to July 2026, the lowest figure recorded outside the pandemic period in more than a decade.
The Office for National Statistics put UK job vacancies at 707,000 for May–July 2026, a fall of 6,000 compared with the February–April period. The figures show this is the lowest vacancy count recorded outside the COVID-19 pandemic since September–November 2014, when 703,000 roles were advertised. The last time the figure dropped to this level during the pandemic itself was February–April 2021, when vacancies stood at 657,000.
The ONS posted the early estimate on Tuesday, drawing on survey data before final figures are confirmed.
The drop continues a run of quarterly falls. Early estimates for April–June 2026 had already placed vacancies at 712,000 — down 7,000, or 0.9 per cent, on the January–March quarter. The direction of travel has been consistently downward since the post-pandemic hiring surge of 2021–22, when vacancies peaked at record highs.
For Kent residents, the national picture matters. ONS does not publish county-level vacancy counts in its main monthly releases, so there is no equivalent Kent-specific figure for May–July 2026. But the county’s dominant sectors — retail, hospitality, logistics, and health and social care — are all sensitive to shifts in national labour demand, and fewer advertised roles nationally tends to mean more competition for each position locally. Entry-level and lower-paid jobs are typically where that pressure is felt first.
Labour market analysts, drawing on ONS data, have linked the sustained fall in vacancies to rising labour costs prompting smaller firms to scale back recruitment. And while employers may find hiring easier now than during the acute shortages of 2021–22, broader economic uncertainty appears to be keeping headcount expansion cautious. The ONS notes that vacancy levels, though falling, remain above where they sat for most of the pre-pandemic decade — but the trend has been downward for several quarters.
Source: @ONS