The Office for National Statistics has reported that the number of job vacancies in the UK has dropped to its lowest level since 2021, despite the employment market remaining “broadly stable.”

For the period from March to May, there were approximately 707,000 job openings, with retail and hospitality particularly impacted by the cost of hiring staff amid steep increases in operational costs.

“The professional services sector saw the largest fall in vacancies, but retail and hospitality also saw significant drops,” reported Propel. “Data from HMRC shows that the number of new recruits was at a five-year low, with the number of inflows, or new hires, just under 540,000 in April – the lowest monthly figure since March 2021.”

“The unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.9 percent in the three months to April, from 5 percent in the three months to March.”

Speaking to the BBC last week, landlord Jamie Younger said rises in Employer NICs and the NMW had “made life very difficult,” particularly when it comes to employing first-time staff.

“There is a benefit of employing someone in their first job because you get to train them and mould that person. But with the financial restrictions, it’s becoming harder and harder every day.”