Graduate Vacancies Fall 46% as Employers Cut Entry-Level Hiring Amid Rising Costs

Graduate job vacancies in the UK have fallen by almost half in the past year, dropping to the lowest level in a decade as employers cut entry-level roles in response to rising employment costs and increased adoption of artificial intelligence, according to new data from jobs website Adzuna^[1].

Adzuna reported just 8,383 graduate vacancies listed in July 2026, down from 15,397 at the same point in 2025^[1]. The figure represents the lowest count since the company began tracking graduate-specific roles in 2016, and is six times lower than the peak of more than 55,800 vacancies recorded in 2017^[1].

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said the figures show "employers still haven't found a reason to open up hiring" for recent graduates^[1]. The decline comes as businesses face higher employment costs following employer national insurance and minimum wage increases, which have made hiring more expensive particularly for junior staff^[1].

Rising Competition for Remaining Roles

Competition among job seekers has intensified across all levels, with an average of 2.14 job seekers per vacancy in July 2026, up from 1.93 a year earlier^[1]. The tightening of the graduate market coincides with a broader youth unemployment crisis, with the UK's youth unemployment rate-covering 16-to-24-year-olds-reaching 16.2% in the three months to March 2026^[1].

The number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) has now exceeded one million^[1]. Young people have previously told BBC News they have applied for hundreds of jobs before receiving a response, with growing frustration at employers using AI to screen applications^[1].

Former government minister Alan Milburn is leading a major review of the youth unemployment crisis. He has previously stated that the number of entry-level jobs is shrinking, as is the number of part-time jobs traditionally filled by teenagers and students^[1].

Sector-Specific Hiring Trends

The Adzuna data showed that sectors including healthcare, nursing, hospitality and logistics posted fewer vacancies in recent weeks^[1]. By contrast, vacancies for jobs in travel, teaching and construction rose during the same period^[1].

However, graduate jobs expert Charlie Ball suggested the figures might not reflect the full picture of the graduate market. He said the data could indicate that firms are advertising fewer roles specifically labelled as "graduate" positions, even if the roles themselves still exist and end up being filled by graduates^[1]. Ball stated that while the graduate market has "not collapsed", he acknowledged: "We know the graduate jobs market is weak. We know it's not in great shape"^[1].

UK Company Register Context

Economy-wide data from the CompanyPulse company register shows the broader employment landscape across the UK's 5.6 million active companies^[2]. The register records 6.6 million total companies, with 16,630 new incorporations in the week to 24 August 2026^[2].

Across the entire UK register, the sectors with the highest company counts include real estate (437,088 companies in "other letting and operating of own or leased real estate"), management consultancy (265,076 companies), and IT consultancy (160,497 companies)^[2]. These economy-wide totals reflect all registered businesses, not hiring activity or graduate recruitment specifically.

In terms of geographic distribution across the whole UK register, London accounts for 1,031,713 registered companies, followed by Manchester (100,698), Birmingham (90,353), Glasgow (69,519) and Edinburgh (57,362)^[2]. Daily incorporation data for August 2026 shows fluctuations ranging from 328 to 3,334 new companies per day, though these point-in-time figures should not be interpreted as evidence of specific day-of-week patterns^[2].

Structural Shift or Temporary Decline?

The graduate vacancy decline has emerged at a time when several structural factors are reshaping the UK labour market. Employer national insurance and minimum wage increases have raised the cost of hiring, particularly for junior roles^[1]. At the same time, employers are increasingly adopting AI for both recruitment screening and operational tasks that might previously have been assigned to entry-level staff^[1].

The divergence in vacancy trends across sectors-with construction and teaching hiring while healthcare and hospitality pull back-suggests the graduate market contraction is not uniform. Whether this represents a permanent shift in how employers recruit early-career talent, or a temporary cost-driven freeze that will reverse as economic conditions stabilise, remains to be seen.

For the class of 2026 and beyond, the data confirms a tougher market than graduates have faced in a decade. With more than twice as many job seekers competing for each role compared to 2017's peak, early-career professionals may need to consider broader geographic mobility, alternative entry routes beyond traditional graduate schemes, and sectors outside their initial target industries.