UK job vacancies

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), series AP2Y. Monthly, usually a Tuesday in the middle of the month, 7am, in the ONS labour market release; next release 20 October 2026

UK job vacancies: every value, by year, with a CSV download →

What it measures

A vacancy is a job that an employer is actively trying to fill from outside the business, for example by advertising it. The ONS counts them through its Vacancy Survey, which asks a sample of about 6,100 businesses each month one question: how many vacancies they have on a specified date. The figure shown is a three-month average, in thousands, for the UK. The survey covers Great Britain and is weighted up to include Northern Ireland; it leaves out agriculture, forestry and fishing, households as employers, and employment agencies, to avoid counting the same post twice. Jobs filled only by internal moves do not count. The survey is separate from the unemployment estimates, which come from the Labour Force Survey.

How to read it

The ONS labels each three-month figure by its middle month, so a value dated July in the chart covers June to August. Vacancies tell you about demand for workers, not about how many people are looking for work; the ONS bulletin sets the two side by side as the number of unemployed people per vacancy. A fall in vacancies can mean firms are cutting hiring, or that posts are being filled faster. The latest period is labelled as an early estimate and is revised the following month. Breakdowns by industry are in dataset VACS02, and single-month estimates, which are not seasonally adjusted, are in dataset X06; see the labour market statistics guide.

Background

The Vacancy Survey began in April 2001, and the ONS series starts with April to June 2001 at 680,000. Vacancies fell to 429,000 in May to July 2009 after the financial crisis and to a low of 343,000 in April to June 2020, during the first coronavirus lockdown. They then rose to the series high of 1,294,000 in April to June 2022, before falling back. The ONS lists vacancy statistics among the labour market outputs that keep their accredited status, reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in April 2022.

How many job vacancies are there in the UK right now?

The figure at the top of this page is the latest ONS estimate, in thousands, for a three-month period. When this page was checked on 13 October 2026, the latest estimate was 702,000 vacancies in June to August 2026, published on 15 September 2026. The ONS described this as the lowest level since February to April 2021.

Why are job vacancies falling?

The ONS reports the size of the change, not a single cause. In its September 2026 bulletin it said feedback from the Vacancy Survey suggested smaller firms may not be recruiting because of increases in labour costs. Breakdowns by industry and business size in the same release show where the falls are concentrated.

How many unemployed people are there per vacancy?

The ONS publishes this ratio each month. In the September 2026 release there were 2.5 unemployed people per vacancy in May to July 2026, and the ratio had stayed at 2.5 since July to September 2025. It divides the Labour Force Survey unemployment level by the Vacancy Survey count, so the two periods differ slightly.

Can I see job vacancies by region?

No. The ONS states that vacancy statistics are not available by region, because the survey is designed to give UK estimates by industry and business size. For local labour markets, the ONS regional labour market release gives employment and unemployment by region. Regional counts of online job adverts are a different measure from the Vacancy Survey.

Is a vacancy the same as a job advert?

No. The ONS counts each post a business is actively recruiting for, whether or not it is advertised online, on one reference date. Online advert counts can include duplicates, adverts for several posts, or adverts left up after a post is filled, so they move differently from the survey.

Related questions

• How many job vacancies are there in the UK?
• What is the UK unemployment rate?
• How is UK unemployment calculated?
• How many people work in the public sector in the UK?

More on this source: UK labour market statistics (ONS, Nomis and the gender pay gap reporting service)