Brexit anxiety hits the UK job market as advertised salaries slump

• Wages fall for 3rd consecutive month, as UK employers keep a lid on a pay rises
• Total advertised vacancies this September sit at 1,143,386 – stalling over the summer and full time vacancies down 7% YOY
• South West England saw average advertised salaries shoot up 7.5%, an outlier in an otherwise tepid summer jobs market
• Charity and Voluntary Sector showed the third greatest increase in pay across the UK
• Despite the slow down, jobseekers per vacancy fell to 0.38, marking the lowest job competition levels for jobs since Adzuna started collecting data in 2011

Average UK advertised salaries have dropped month-on-month for the third consecutive month, as employers show signs of concern over the impact of a no-deal Brexit, according to Adzuna.co.uk.

In contrast to the growth and optimism around wages seen in early 2018, average rates of pay have fallen for the last three months in a row. The average advertised salary in the UK fell over 2% between June and August 2018, a worrying sign that employer optimism is dwindling.  

In line with signs of salary stagnation, UK vacancy counts have also seen a slide in recent times, with a drop of 7.2% in full time advertised jobs between August 2017 and August 2018.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, competition for available roles has fallen to 0.37 jobseekers per vacancy, dropping below last month’s historic record to set a new all time low for job competition.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, explains:

“Despite positive noises from the labour market in the first half of 2018, this latest data suggests a summer slow down in the UK job market and clear salary stagnation across the country. Britain’s biggest employers are nervous, anxious and looking for answers around Brexit. If this uncertainty continues into late 2018, it’s very hard to see how rates of pay and hiring will improve and return to growth in the short term.”

Table 1: Total advertised vacancies and salaries

Regional breakdown

For the first time in recorded history, a five-way tie exists for the best location in the UK for jobseekers to find work.

Cambridge, Oxford, Warrington, Reading and Swindon share the top spot in the table of best places to look for work, each of these locations boasts more than 15 job opportunities for every jobseeker in the area.

At the other end of the scale, Sunderland, Hull and Salford were the toughest places to find work in across the nation, with several candidates fighting it out for every available role.

Table 2: Best-performing job sectors in the UK – annual salaries

Table 3: Worst-performing job sectors in the UK – annual salaries

Charity Jobs are big business

Salaries in the charity sector saw the 3^rd highest increases in average advertised earnings across all industries in July. With pay promises up 7.5% year-on-year to £29,220, things are looking up for the philanthropic workers of the UK.

Property Jobs need maintenance work

Salaries in the property sector averaged £30,824 in July 2018, entering the table of declining salaries in 5^th place, with a 1.9% drop from 2017 levels. There were 15,022 roles advertised in the property sector last month.

www.adzuna.co.uk