UK Job Adverts Fall Again in November

The UK job market closed 2025 stuck in a stubborn contraction. Demand for staff declined again in November, marking more than two years of consecutive monthly drops. Despite some signs of stabilization, the labor market remains under pressure from budget uncertainty and rising employment costs.

The latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs, compiled by S&P Global, shows permanent placements continued to decline in November. The survey collected responses between November 12 and 24 from around 400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies, before the November 26 budget announcement.

"Despite a slight uptick in some indicators again this month, the latest figures confirm the jobs market remains stuck in contraction," said Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC. "A complex business environment and uncertainty around the Budget kept hiring on ice last month, as business leaders weighed potential impacts."

The data reveals a job market caught between employer caution and worker anxiety. Companies hesitate to commit to new hires. Workers face a tightening market with fewer opportunities and more competition for available roles.

Vacancy Numbers Tell a Grim Story

Demand for staff declined for the 27th consecutive month in November. The reduction remained marked, though it eased to its weakest since June. Permanent vacancies continued falling at a steeper pace than temporary roles, a pattern that has persisted throughout the downturn.

All ten monitored job categories registered lower demand for permanent staff in November. Construction and Retail workers saw the steepest reductions in vacancies. Blue Collar positions experienced the mildest rate of contraction.

The temporary market offered almost no relief. Nursing, Medical, and Care was the sole exception, recording a modest increase in vacancies. Hotel and Catering saw the sharpest drop in demand overall.

Regional data showed uniform weakness. All four monitored English regions registered lower permanent staff appointments in November. The North of England experienced the sharpest decline. The Midlands saw a sharp and accelerated rise in temp billings, while London recorded marginal growth. However, marked falls hit the South and North of England.

The Office for National Statistics reported in its November 2025 bulletin that vacancy numbers remained broadly unchanged on the quarter at 723,000 in August to October 2025. Total estimated vacancies were down 99,000 or 12 percent from a year ago, decreasing in 16 of 18 industry sectors.

Candidates Flood the Market

Job seekers faced brutal competition in November. The supply of candidates for new roles increased at the second-fastest rate since November 2020. Only August 2025 saw a stronger rise during the past five years.

Recruitment companies reported that redundancies and fewer vacancies drove the surge in labor supply. Both permanent and temporary staff availability rose steeply. Workers concerned about job security joined those already displaced in seeking new positions.

The number of unemployed people per vacancy reached 2.5 in July to September 2025, up from 2.3 the previous quarter. This represents the highest level excluding the pandemic since May to July 2015, according to ONS data.

According to Adzuna, UK vacancies fell to 796,385 jobs in October, down 3.61 percent month-on-month and 7.36 percent annually. This marked the first time vacancies dropped below 800,000 since March 2021. Competition for roles reached a four-year high at 2.12 jobseekers per available role in October, the highest since May 2021.

Pay Growth Stalls Under Pressure

The combination of lower demand and rising candidate supply placed serious downward pressure on pay. Starting salaries increased in November, but at historically subdued rates. Companies sought to attract skilled workers even as budget constraints tightened.

Temporary pay rates rose to an even more limited degree. With staff availability rising steeply and competition fierce, employers faced little pressure to raise wages significantly.

The average advertised salary reached 42,531 pounds in October according to Adzuna, up 0.27 percent month-on-month and 8.4 percent year-on-year. Wage growth continued outpacing inflation at 3.6 percent, with particularly strong growth in the public sector at 6.6 percent compared to the private sector's 4.2 percent.

What Drove the November Decline

Budget uncertainty dominated employer thinking in November. Companies delayed hiring decisions while waiting to see what the November 26 budget would bring. The previous year's surprise increase in payroll taxes had shocked the market, leading to higher unemployment and redundancies just as businesses predicted.

"We have been here before," Carberry noted. "There was a similar mood in the jobs market before the Chancellor's Halloween Budget last year. The huge surprise increase in payroll taxes then shocked the market and we have seen the results of that, as businesses predicted then, in higher unemployment and redundancy."

High employment costs continued weighing on recruitment decisions. Companies operating under tight margins found it difficult to justify expanding headcount when economic uncertainty made revenue forecasts unreliable.

Jon Holt, Group Chief Executive and UK Senior Partner at KPMG, acknowledged the difficult environment: "Economic uncertainty continues to weigh heavy on business, but further stabilization in the jobs market last month indicates that a Budget that builds business confidence, could be a catalyst for renewed hiring."

Small Signs of Stabilization

The November data contained modest positive signals amid the gloom. The degree to which permanent placements fell eased for a fifth successive month, dropping to its weakest since July 2024. Temporary billings declined only modestly, though this represented a return to contraction following marginal October growth.

Some sectors showed resilience. Demand for permanent workers increased across Accounting, Financial, and Engineering sectors in October. These pockets of growth stood out against widespread declines elsewhere.

The slowdown in the rate of decline suggests the worst of the contraction may be passing, though the market remains far from healthy. Companies are not aggressively cutting back as they were in summer 2024, but neither are they confident enough to ramp up hiring.

Government Gets Failing Grade

Carberry delivered a blunt assessment of government economic policy: "If government's priority is growth, their report card at the end of 2025 reads 'Must try harder.'"

He added: "We can see signs of the market stabilizing, including an improvement in pay rates for new jobs. But to really get businesses firing, they need confidence. While the Budget was not the horror show of last year, there was little in it to fire the heart of firms."

The REC chief called for more aggressive action to support business investment rather than measures that deter it. Without meaningful policy changes that build employer confidence, the jobs market seems likely to remain stuck in its current holding pattern into 2026.

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