New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the UK labour market cooled in the second quarter, with vacancies falling to their lowest level since 2014 (excluding the pandemic) and unemployment holding at 4.9%. HR experts have shared advice for jobseekers navigating the tougher market.
Key figures from the latest ONS data
Private sector regular earnings rose by 2.8% annually in the three months to June, the weakest growth since the three months to October 2020. Overall annual earnings growth, excluding bonuses, was 3.5% in the second quarter. The unemployment rate remained at 4.9%, while the number of open job vacancies fell to 707,000 in the three months to July, down from 711,000 in the previous three-month period.
Liz McKeown, director of Economic Statistics at ONS, said: "Regular wage growth has remained broadly stable in recent months. However, private sector pay growth has continued to ease, while public sector pay growth remains elevated due to the timing of the latest NHS pay awards."
Advice for jobseekers
Kelly Smallcombe, fractional chief people officer at Meliorem HR Consultancy, said people shouldn't wait for the "right" role to appear. She added: "Nobody is surprised vacancies are falling, it’s the data reflecting what everyone has said: more employment rights and more costs on people means companies are less willing to take a risk on hiring. That’s tough for jobseekers, fewer roles and employers chasing ‘purple unicorns’ piling more skills onto one job than the role used to require."
Kate Underwood, founder of Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, said jobseekers shouldn't just ping off loads of CVs, they should be more selective. She added: "These figures show the jobs market has definitely cooled. There are fewer vacancies, pay growth is slowing and people looking for work are facing more competition."
Building relationships and the impact of AI
Debbie Denyer, executive coach at Beaconsfield-based Coach The Difference, said people needed to build relationships rather than just send applications. She added: "The worst thing jobseekers can do in this market is become invisible. With vacancies down to around 707,000 and private sector pay growth slowing to 2.8%, competition is intensifying."
Sam Alsop-Hall, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Birmingham-based Clive Henry Group, said AI was taking jobs. He added: "When a job churns now, it doesn't get readvertised. Increasingly it gets replaced by an AI agent, and that is why vacancies are at their lowest level in a decade. This is the first jobs report that really shows the Fourth Industrial Revolution biting."
