Vacancies tumble to lowest in five years – ONS

The Office for National Statistics said vacancies tumbled by 19,000 to 707,000 in the three months to May.

Vacancies in the UK have slumped to their lowest level in over five years as firms continue to rein in their hiring, according to official figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said vacancies tumbled by 19,000 to 707,000 in the three months to May, which is the lowest since the three months to April 2021.

The ONS said the drop in vacancies was significant across lower‑paying sectors and smaller employers, while the largest fall in the quarter was in professional services.

The latest figures show Britain’s rate of unemployment edged lower to 4.9% in the three months to April, down from 5% in the three months to March.

Wages growth meanwhile remained unchanged at 3.4% in the three months to April after recently easing back and continues to outstrip inflation rising by 0.3% after taking Consumer Prices Index inflation into account.

The data comes before the Bank of England’s interest rate decision at noon on Thursday, with policymakers widely expected to vote for a hold.

Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “The labour market remained broadly stable in the latest quarter, with further softening evident in some measures.

“Payroll numbers continued to fall over this period, with new recruits at their lowest level in five years.”

She added there was “some signs of workers moving into self‑employment”, while the vacancies decline signalled firms are “becoming more cautious about taking on new staff”.