UK Jobs Market Insight - August 2025

Wages Up. Vacancies Down. What Employers Need to Know Now.

The latest UK jobs market August 2025 figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal a mixed; and in some ways unusual picture.


While wage growth remains strong, job vacancies continue to decline, and unemployment is at its highest point in four years.

The Numbers at a Glance

  • Unemployment: 4.7% – highest since 2021 (UK unemployment rate 2025)

  • Vacancies: 718,000 – lowest since April 2021 (UK vacancies August 2025)

  • Payroll employment: Down for the sixth consecutive month (-8,000 in July)

  • Regular pay growth: +5% (UK wage growth 2025)

  • Total pay growth (incl. bonuses): +4.6% — bonuses are being scaled back

For more context on these shifts, see Reuters’ coverage of the August 2025 labour market.


What’s Driving the Shift?

Many employers, especially in labour-intensive sectors, are under pressure from:

  • Rising wage bills and higher employer taxes

  • Minimum wage increases

  • Slowing economic growth is impacting demand

This is a key point in the UK hiring trends August 2025 — for some businesses, it means slowing recruitment and focusing only on essential hires.


For others, it’s a chance to secure talent while competitors hesitate.


What This Means for Employers

Even in a slower market, specialist skills remain hard to find. The fight for top performers hasn’t disappeared; it’s just changed shape.
Key trends we’re seeing:

  • Flexible hiring (temporary, interim, contract) is growing as a way to control costs without losing capability — an essential tactic in how to hire in a downturn

  • Candidates are placing greater emphasis on culture, stability, and career progression over headline salary alone

  • Hiring decisions are taking longer as budgets tighten and approvals take more steps


How Yellow Bricks Temps Can Help You Adapt

At Yellow Bricks, we’re working with employers to:

  • Rapidly fill urgent skills gaps with high-calibre temporary staffing UK

  • Secure permanent hires who fit the culture and will stay for the long term

  • Provide workforce strategy advice to navigate uncertain conditions

Whether you need interim recruitment UK or a long-term recruitment plan, our insight into the current market means we can help you move fast and hire smart.




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Why Your Next Hire Should Be Temporary (And Why It Might Outperform Permanent)