New job postings declined marginally in August 2025, while total active job posts remain above 1.4 million, according to the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) monthly Labour Market Tracker.
The number of new job postings in the UK in August 2025 was 661,639 – down by 3.8% from July 2025. And the overall number of active job postings was 1,447,620 – a decrease of 1.6% on the number of job postings in July 2025.
The fall in new and active job postings in August 2025 is typical of this time of year. It mirrors August 2024 when summer holidays affected the pace of hiring.
After all, the number of overall active postings in August 2024 was a decrease of 2.4% on the number of postings in July 2024, and new job postings in August 2024 was a 2.2% decline from July 2024.
Summer seasonal hiring was slow this year, and last year’s Budget decisions hurt some sectors making too many firms cautious about recruitment, but the job market proved resilient.
The list below shows the top ten and bottom ten occupations by growth in job postings:
With the right signals from the upcoming Budget, employers could regain confidence and hiring could pick up again before the end of the year, the REC said.
“The typical August slowdown did not help the job market recover from a slow start to summer seasonal hiring. The last Budget’s blows to business clearly landed, especially on hospitality firms, a key gateway into work,” said REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry.
“Even so, job postings remain above 1.4 million, with opportunities across logistics, finance, IT, education and health. With the Treasury signalling investment and reforms in the next Budget, some businesses may get a timely boost as they gear up for festive demand later in the year.”
Looking past the seasonal dip, the UK’s fiscal outlook and longer-term prospects remain solid, bolstered by the likelihood of further American investment linked to the US President’s State Visit, Carberry said.
“A short-lived lull in hiring should not distract us from the underlying strength of our labour market. If the government pursues its employment agenda pragmatically, and the Chancellor avoids pulling any unwelcome surprises out of the Budget-day hat, employers will have the stability to help the labour market shake off its summer slumber,” he said.
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