Graduate job adverts fell to 8,383 in July
Graduate vacancies listed on Adzuna fell to 8,383 in July, from 15,397 a year earlier — a 45% drop and the lowest figure in the jobs platform's series since 2016, according to reporting on the data.
July was not an isolated result. Adzuna's May job-market report had already recorded 8,398 graduate vacancies, down 42.1% on a year earlier. For comparison, its figures for graduate roles exceeded 55,000 in 2017.
The figure is a count of graduate adverts listed through Adzuna, not a census of every degree-level role or hiring route. For graduates scanning job boards, however, the distinction will do little to change the immediate picture: the most visible entry point has become markedly smaller.
Other measures point in the same direction
The size of the fall varies by dataset, but the direction is consistent. Indeed's mid-year UK report said postings with “graduate” in the title were about 7% lower than a year earlier on 10 July, their lowest seasonal level since 2020.
The Institute of Student Employers (ISE), which surveys organisations running formal student and graduate programmes, reported an 8% fall in graduate hiring in the 2024/25 cycle. Forty-two per cent of its respondents cut graduate hiring, while a third increased it.
| Measure | Latest reading | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Adzuna graduate vacancies | 8,383 in July 2026 Down 45% year on year |
Online job adverts classified as graduate vacancies |
| Indeed graduate postings | About 7% below a year earlier as at 10 July |
UK postings with “graduate” in the job title |
| ISE graduate hiring | Down 8% in 2024/25 | Surveyed employers running early-careers programmes |
| Applications per ISE graduate vacancy | 140 in 2025 | Competition reported by surveyed early-careers employers |
These figures should not be combined into one national rate. They use different labels, dates and samples. Taken together, they show a weaker market in both open job adverts and formal graduate recruitment.
Costs, caution and AI
Graduate recruitment is falling against a wider slowdown in hiring. Indeed says the decline in UK job postings has been broad-based, with most occupational groups recording fewer adverts over the past year.
Businesses have also pointed to higher employment costs and uncertainty when explaining their recruitment decisions. The Adzuna data was published after increases in employer National Insurance and the minimum wage, at a time when many companies are holding back on permanent hiring.
AI is part of the backdrop, but it is not a proven explanation for the full decline. Indeed found that 9.4% of UK postings mentioned AI or related tools by the end of June, particularly in data, software, marketing and communications. The ISE, however, says it has not found compelling evidence of widespread AI replacement of graduate jobs.
The available data cannot separate the effects of AI, higher costs and weaker hiring appetite. What it does show is a market in which employers are opening fewer entry-level adverts and asking more of the candidates who apply.
The fall is not spread evenly
Adzuna reported increases in university-leaver vacancies in travel, teaching and construction in July, with manufacturing beginning to add roles. Healthcare and nursing, hospitality and logistics recorded fewer vacancies.
That makes the picture less uniform than the headline suggests. Some employers are still adding early-career roles; others are shrinking the pipeline. The job-board data is a snapshot rather than a sector forecast, but it shows why a search limited to one type of graduate scheme can now be especially restrictive.
A tougher entry point, not a verdict on degrees
Applicants are facing fewer adverts at the same time as competition remains high. ISE employers received an average of 140 applications per graduate vacancy in 2025, its highest figure in three decades of tracking.
That number does not cover every vacancy in the UK, just as Adzuna's count does not cover every route into graduate work. It is still a useful indication of the pressure on the roles that are advertised publicly.
The latest figures point to a tighter entry point into work, not the end of graduate careers. Vacancy data tracks adverts in real time; graduate-outcomes data arrives later and follows people once they are in work or further study. Those are different measures, and both matter.
For practical guidance once an application progresses, see our graduate interview guide. If a placement is your route into a first role, our internship conversion update covers the current employer data.
Jacob, Instant Interview
