UK graduate job market hits record low as vacancies collapse 45%
UK graduate vacancies fell to 8,383 in July, the lowest on record and down 45% year-over-year, as tax hikes and AI adoption pressure entry-level hiring.
The UK graduate job market just printed its worst reading on record, with entry-level openings nearly halving year-over-year. Per the Telegraph, employers are pulling back on junior hiring as cost pressures and technology reshape the bottom of the corporate ladder.
The numbers
Just 8,383 graduate-level vacancies were listed in July according to job website Adzuna, down from 15,397 at the same time last year. It is the lowest number ever recorded since the company started tracking the data in 2016.
Adzuna said that the best year for graduate employment was in 2017, when there were more than 55,000 starting roles. That is roughly an 85% collapse from the peak.
Supply and demand mismatch
The figures come as a record-breaking 262,820 people prepare to start university in September. It means that for every 100 people starting university this year, there were just three graduate-level vacancies listed in July.
Competition for positions has increased across the board, with an average of 2.14 job hunters per role, up from 1.93 a year earlier.
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Why employers are pulling back
Employers are slashing entry-level hiring after Labour increased National Insurance contributions and the minimum wage, making inexperienced staff less attractive. AI adoption is also compressing demand for the kind of routine white-collar work that traditionally absorbed new graduates.
Around 1 million people young people in the UK were not in education, employment or training, otherwise known as Neets in the first four months of this year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Where hiring still exists
Adzuna said the only professions where jobs for university graduates were teaching, travel, manufacturing and construction. Finance, consulting, and tech, historically the top graduate destinations, are conspicuously absent.
Options market and stocks to watch
Watch for continued pressure on names exposed to UK white-collar hiring and consumer strength:
- RELL and staffing-adjacent plays: watch for weakness as UK employers cut recruitment budgets.
- LNKD-adjacent parent MSFT: watch for softer recruiter revenue commentary if the trend spreads.
- PSO (Pearson): watch for shifting demand as degree ROI comes into question.
- BCS and LYG: watch UK bank credit commentary on youth unemployment and consumer loan performance.
For more coverage on labor market shifts and macro data, see other Unusual Whales news.
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