LONDON / RankWire.AI / – UK graduate job vacancies fell nearly 46% in July from a year earlier, according to new Adzuna data. The jobs platform recorded 8,383 live graduate vacancies, down from 15,397 in July 2025. That marked the lowest level since Adzuna began its monthly graduate jobs series in April 2016. The latest total also sits far below the more than 55,000 vacancies recorded at the series peak in 2017.
Competition across the wider UK jobs market also increased over the same period. Adzuna recorded 2.14 jobseekers for every vacancy in July, compared with 1.93 a year earlier. The measure covers the broader labour market rather than graduate roles alone. Adzuna aggregates online job advertisements from more than 1,000 sources, so its graduate count does not represent every position available to university leavers.
Official labour market data also show fewer vacancies across the UK economy. The Office for National Statistics estimated 707,000 vacancies for May through July 2026. That was 6,000 lower than the previous three-month period and 19,000 below the level a year earlier. The ONS also recorded 2.5 unemployed people per vacancy in April through June, up from 2.3 a year earlier.
Graduate hiring weakens as competition rises
The decline comes as a record number of young people prepare to enter higher education. UCAS said 262,820 UK 18-year-olds had secured an undergraduate place by results day on August 13. That was 3% higher than the 255,130 recorded at the same stage last year. The entry rate for UK 18-year-olds stood at 31.6%, broadly unchanged despite the increase in accepted applicants.
Separate recruitment data have also shown intense competition for established graduate schemes. The Institute of Student Employers said participating employers received just over one million graduate applications during the 2024/25 recruitment cycle. Employers averaged 140 applications for each graduate vacancy in its latest student recruitment survey. The organization said application volumes remained at record levels among the employers covered by its research.
Wider UK vacancy market remains subdued
Hiring costs have also changed since April 2025 under previously announced tax measures. The employer National Insurance rate rose to 15% from 13.8%, while the annual secondary threshold fell to £5,000 from £9,100. The ONS said feedback from its vacancy survey showed some small businesses were limiting recruitment because of higher labour and operating costs. Its latest figures showed vacancies falling across nine of 18 industry sectors.
Artificial intelligence has become another focus in the debate over entry-level employment, although official assessments remain cautious about its measured effect. Skills England said in August that separating AI’s impact from wider labour market trends remains difficult. Meanwhile, ONS figures showed 1.012 million people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training during January through March 2026. That represented 13.5% of young people in the age group and an increase of 89,000 from a year earlier.