UK companies are cutting back on hiring as they wait for Reeves’s budget
Advertised job vacancies in the UK have continued to fall as businesses slow down hiring ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s November Budget.
New data from Adzuna shows that the total number of advertised vacancies dropped by 2.4% in September compared to August to 826,205. Adverts for jobs are now 4.1% lower than a year ago, with September recording the lowest vacancy level this year.
Notably, there are now more than two jobseekers for every vacancy, the highest ratio since early 2024, Adzuna said.
“September’s figures reflect a job market that’s steady but cautious. Vacancies fell while average pay rose slightly to £42,417, 8.8% higher than a year ago,” said Andrew Hunter, Co-Founder of Adzuna.
“This suggests employers are still prepared to pay for the right people, but they’re taking longer to hire and being more selective about where they invest.
“For jobseekers, this all combines to bring more competition and a tougher fight for each role. In a highly competitive job market, timing is everything. Jobseekers who submit applications promptly and tailor them precisely are more likely to succeed.”
Retailers send a warning
The UK’s biggest retailers have already warned that they will not be able to cope with a proposed surtax mooted ahead of the budget.
Leaders from nine of Britain’s biggest supermarkets have written to Reeves to urge her to exclude shops from the proposed business rates surtax.
“The UK grocery market is highly competitive with narrow profit margins that are well below those found in most other industries. Consumers benefit from some of the lowest food prices in the developed world. And while we continuously seek efficiencies, our ability to absorb additional costs is diminishing,” the group said.
“If the industry faces higher taxes in the coming Budget – such as being included in the new surtax on business rates – our ability to deliver value for our customers will become even more challenging and it will be households who inevitably feel the impact. Given the costs currently falling on the industry, including from the last Budget, high food inflation is likely to persist into 2026.
“This is not something that we would want to see prolonged by any measure in the Budget. Large retail premises are a tiny proportion of all stores, yet account for a third of retail’s total business rates bill, meaning another significant rise could push food inflation even higher.”
