Graduate job vacancies drop by almost 50% in a year
Job site Adzuna said the number of graduate vacancies was the lowest since 2016
The number of job openings for recent university graduates has nearly halved over the past year, new data reveals, as companies increasingly adopt AI and contend with escalating expenses, leading them to reduce entry-level positions.
According to the jobs platform Adzuna, there were only 8,383 graduate vacancies advertised in July, a significant drop from 15,397 in July of the previous year. This marks the lowest number of graduate vacancies recorded by Adzuna since it began tracking this data in 2016. The company noted that graduate roles peaked in 2017, with over 55,800 listings, which is more than six times the current number.
Adzuna's findings also indicate a growing intensity in competition among job seekers across all experience levels. In July, there were 2.14 job seekers for every vacancy, an increase from 1.93 a year prior.
Businesses attribute the rising cost of hiring, particularly for junior staff, to increases in employer national insurance contributions and the minimum wage.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, commented that these figures suggest "employers still haven't found a reason to open up hiring" for recent graduates.
Official statistics show that the UK's youth unemployment rate, encompassing individuals aged 16 to 24, stood at 16.2% in the three months leading up to March 2026. Furthermore, the number of young people not engaged in education, employment, or training (NEET) has now surpassed one million.
Previously, young individuals have shared with BBC News their experiences of applying for hundreds of jobs without even receiving a reply. They also voiced their frustration regarding the increasing use of AI by employers to screen job applications. Many university graduates are also grappling with accumulating student debt.
Alan Milburn, a former government minister, is spearheading a significant review into the youth unemployment crisis. He has previously highlighted a decline in both entry-level jobs and the part-time positions traditionally filled by teenagers and students.
While Adzuna's data indicated an increase in job vacancies within the travel, teaching, and construction sectors in recent weeks, other fields such as healthcare, nursing, hospitality, and logistics saw a reduction in available positions.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently revised the regulations for public contracts, now requiring companies bidding for these contracts to demonstrate their plans for creating jobs and training opportunities.