LONDON / RankWire.AI / – According to fresh data from Adzuna, the number of graduate job vacancies in the UK saw a decline of almost 46% in July compared to the same month last year. The platform reported a total of 8,383 active graduate positions, a significant decrease from 15,397 in July 2025. This figure marks the lowest point since Adzuna launched its monthly graduate jobs series in April 2016, and it remains well below the peak of more than 55,000 vacancies recorded in 2017.
During the same period, competition for jobs across the broader UK employment landscape also intensified, with Adzuna data indicating that there were 2.14 jobseekers per vacancy in July, compared to 1.93 a year earlier. This ratio covers the overall labor market, not solely graduate positions, and since Adzuna collects online job advertisements from over 1,000 sources, its count of graduate vacancies does not encompass every available role for recent university graduates.
Official employment statistics corroborate this downward trend, revealing a decrease in vacancies across the UK economy. The Office for National Statistics estimated there were 707,000 vacancies between May and July 2026, which is 6,000 fewer than in the previous three-month period and 19,000 less than a year earlier. Additionally, ONS data from April through June showed a rise to 2.5 unemployed individuals for each vacancy, up from 2.3 a year earlier.
Graduate recruitment weakens amid rising competition
This decline coincides with a record number of young people preparing to begin higher education, with UCAS reporting that 262,820 UK 18-year-olds had secured a university place by results day on August 13, representing a 3% increase from 255,130 at the same stage last year. Despite this rise, the entry rate for UK 18-year-olds remained steady at 31.6%, indicating that the proportion of accepted applicants has not changed significantly.
Meanwhile, data from recruitment firms highlight fierce competition for established graduate programs, with the Institute of Student Employers noting that employers participating in the 2024/25 recruitment cycle received just over one million applications, averaging 140 applications per vacancy in their latest survey. The organization also emphasized that application volumes among its participating employers remained at record levels.
UK’s broader vacancy market continues to be subdued
Changes in hiring costs since April 2025 have also impacted the job market, driven by previously announced tax adjustments. The employer National Insurance rate increased to 15% from 13.8%, while the secondary threshold for the year decreased to £5,000 from £9,100. According to the ONS, feedback from its vacancy survey indicates that some small businesses have limited their recruitment efforts due to higher labor and operational expenses, with vacancies falling in nine out of 18 industry sectors as a result.
Artificial intelligence has emerged as another element in discussions about entry-level employment, though official assessments remain cautious regarding its exact influence. Skills England stated in August that distinguishing AI’s impact from broader labor market trends remains challenging. Meanwhile, ONS figures reveal that during January through March 2026, 1.012 million people aged 16 to 24 were not engaged in education, employment, or training, which is 13.5% of young individuals in that age group and an increase of 89,000 compared to the previous year.