New figures show that the number of job openings in Britain increased month by month in May 2025.
According to the labour tracker of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and Lightcast, there were 726 084 new job openings in May – an increase of 0.3% compared to April.
As older ads were removed from websites, the total number of active job posts decreased by 1.8% compared to April.
Comparing regions, Scotland (9.2%), and south-west England (4.7%) showed the largest increase in total job postings.
REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said that the figures showed signs of resilience in the UK’s economy. “This month’s postings data reflects anecdotes from recruiters as well as the core ONS workforce job survey – that the labour market has more stagnation than a downward trend.
“Despite the headwinds from tax increases and lower growth, there appears to be some resistance.” “After a long slowdown in the jobs market, a second weak month of growth is more of a sign of hope than of concern.”
He said that, despite the weak global growth outlook, the UK is relatively well-positioned for taking advantage of the opportunities.
Carberry stated: “We have passed the peak of interest rates, the UK is a good investment compared to the US, we are making progress in trade agreements and the legal and political landscape for the future looks stable.” The challenge is now to increase business confidence. With interest rates remaining steady and the possibility of a reduction later this year, it’s time to boost investment.
He said that it was important that the announcements made this month on industrial strategy and infrastructure set out a plan for growth which companies could support.
He warned again that the government’s policies may not be in favour of business growth: “With an Employment Rights Bill troubling, a large jobs tax increase, and anti-business language in some government parts about agency workers – there are a lot of things to change in order to get there.”
According to the figures, an increase in the number of jobs advertised in Scotland and south-west England is likely due to a growing tourist demand.
Postings for delivery drivers and messengers grew the most (53.7%), while business sales executives saw the biggest decline (-47.3%) for the second consecutive month.
The retail sector experienced a 1.5% drop in job postings between April and May.
Subscribe to our weekly HR news and guidance
Every Wednesday, receive the Personnel Today Direct newsletter.
Personnel Today has the latest HR job openings.
Browse Human Resources Jobs
