UK Graduates and Healthcare Workers Face Steep Challenges as Job Market Slows

Published: 29 September ‘2025. The English Chronicle Desk

The UK jobs market is showing clear signs of cooling, with recent analyses revealing that fresh university graduates are facing some of the toughest employment conditions in recent years. According to a detailed report by leading recruitment data provider Adzuna, the number of hires by employers has fallen sharply over the past year, with graduate roles particularly hard hit. The findings indicate that overall hiring has dropped by 35%, leaving young job seekers to compete intensely for a shrinking number of available positions.

Graduates, healthcare professionals, and teachers have emerged as the most affected groups in this shifting landscape. The decline in opportunities for these workers is stark, highlighting how specific sectors are disproportionately impacted even as overall employment figures remain relatively stable. Despite this slowdown, salary growth continues to outpace inflation, indicating that while the quantity of available roles has dipped, the value of positions being offered has not decreased in real terms.

For graduates in particular, the challenges are acute. In August 2025, advertised vacancies for entry-level roles fell by 8% from the previous month, totaling just 14,162 positions. This represents a decline of more than a third compared to the same period last year, underscoring the increasingly competitive environment for young professionals entering the workforce. At the same time, the number of people under 25 who are not in employment, education, or training (commonly referred to as NEETs) has remained high. Following a peak of 971,000 last year, recent data shows a slight decrease to 948,000 in the three months leading to June 2025, though still significantly above pre-pandemic levels.

Healthcare and teaching roles continue to face major difficulties. August figures show a 6.7% decline in healthcare vacancies and a 6.4% drop in teaching positions, reflecting broader trends of hiring freezes or slow recruitment in public service sectors. Hospitality has also experienced a modest decline of 6.5% in job postings. Meanwhile, certain roles such as warehouse work and domestic cleaning have seen an increase in vacancies, highlighting a growing disparity across sectors in the labour market.

Geographic disparities further complicate the picture. Job competition varies significantly across the UK. In the south-west, there are approximately 1.3 job seekers per available position, while the south-east reports 1.46 applicants per role. By contrast, the north-east faces a much more competitive environment, with 3.36 candidates competing for every vacancy. Northern Ireland and the West Midlands also report similarly high levels of competition, indicating that regional factors are heavily influencing employment prospects.

The recruitment slowdown is being shaped by multiple factors, including the rising use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring processes, increased operational costs for employers, and ongoing economic uncertainties. Despite these challenges, the overall labour market has not collapsed. Adzuna’s report highlights that while vacancies have decreased slightly, employers remain willing to offer competitive salaries. Average advertised wages have grown by 8.9% year-on-year to £42,367, with Scotland seeing the fastest growth at £39,127, an increase of 12.15%.

Trends in job types are also shifting. Whereas healthcare roles were once the most advertised, the reduction in vacancies has resulted in warehouse positions becoming the most commonly posted roles. Domestic help and cleaning roles recorded the fastest growth in opportunities, up 6.8%, followed by human resources and recruitment at 5.1%, and retail roles increasing by 3.7%. These sector-specific swings reflect changing demands in the labour market as well as the uneven adoption of new technologies across different industries.

Senior industry figures warn that the uneven nature of hiring could exacerbate challenges for job seekers. Many sectors are adjusting to the influence of AI, which can reduce the need for certain roles or streamline recruitment processes. Employers are also becoming more cautious about transparency, with fewer job postings specifying salary details; only 43.9% of listings included pay information in August, down from 45% in July.

Time-to-fill metrics also reveal changing patterns in recruitment efficiency. The average time required to fill a position rose to 37.3 days in August, compared to 36.3 days the previous month. Certain sectors like IT have seen significant increases in recruitment time, with roles taking an average of 50 days to fill, compared to 40.3 days previously. Conversely, hospitality and catering roles have been filled faster, averaging 31.9 days, suggesting that demand for frontline staff remains robust in some areas.

Adzuna’s co-founder, Andrew Hunted, noted that the hiring landscape is uneven and shaped by a combination of sector-specific factors and the growing role of AI. He emphasized that while some sectors are thriving, others are struggling to maintain recruitment levels. “The market is still finding its balance,” Hunted said, “as emerging technologies, shifting skills demand, and macro-economic conditions continue to redefine where and how employers are hiring.”

Overall, the current analysis paints a nuanced picture of the UK employment landscape. Graduates, healthcare workers, and teachers are disproportionately affected by the slowdown, while other sectors are seeing growth in opportunities. Regional differences compound the challenge, with some areas of the country experiencing intense competition for vacancies. Although salary growth remains positive, the cooling job market underscores the need for targeted interventions and strategic support to ensure that emerging professionals and public service workers can access meaningful employment in the years ahead.