Jobs market | UK vacancies continue to slip in August, but salaries hold steady

UK job vacancies continued to fall in August following a downward dip in July, dropping -2.1% month-on-month to 846,567 and slipping -1.3% annually, according to the latest UK Job Market Report by job matching platform Adzuna. 

This marks the first year-on-year decline since February, breaking a run of five months of annual growth. Still, vacancy levels remain close to the highs seen earlier in 2025, and are still +2.2% higher than January (828,467), often a peak hiring month. All of which hints at a labour market that is cooling, not collapsing.

Average advertised salaries also continue to show resilience, ticking up +0.24% month-on-month to £42,367. As a result, pay growth remains strong year-on-year at +8.9% and continues to outpace inflation, even if the rapid acceleration of earlier in the year has eased. This is in the wake of inflation holding at 3.8%, and continues to be compounded by the National Minimum Wage increase in April. 

With unemployment also holding at a four-year high of 4.7%, and with vacancies continuing to fall in August, competition has intensified slightly, with 2 jobseekers per vacancy. There has additionally been a drop in economic inactivity to an estimated 21% which is below estimates of a year ago, and down in the latest quarter.