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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that job vacancies have dropped to their lowest level in five years, falling by around 8,000 quarter-on-quarter to 702,000 in the three months ending August. Small firms are hesitant to hire due to rising wage costs, with regular weekly earnings growth at 3.5%, still outpacing inflation at 2.7% annually. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9%, but payrolls saw a significant drop of 26,000 workers in August, the largest decline since November last year.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
Claims extracted
13
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
23%
3 of 13 hedged
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Correction & hedging signals
71.1
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
unclustered
not grouped into a story yet
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 10212 · logged 2026-09-15
Vacancies drop to fresh five-year low as small firms remain under pressure –
asserted
firms → drop → pressure
ONS
Job vacancies have fallen to a fresh five-year low as small firms continue to hold back from hiring amid soaring wage costs, according to official figures.
uncertain
firms → fall → figures
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there were around 8,000 fewer vacancies quarter on quarter in the three months to August, at 702,000, which remains the lowest since spring 2021, or, outside the Covid pandemic years, for over a decade.
asserted
which → say → decade
The data showed regular average weekly earnings growth remained unchanged at 3.5% in the three months to July, while it continues to outstrip inflation, rising by 0.8% with the Consumer Prices Index taken into account.
asserted
Index → show → account
Total wage growth stood at 3.9%, down from 4.2% in the three months to June.
This is a key figure for the pensions triple lock calculation and puts pensioners on course for a 3.9% uplift in the state pension next year, according to experts.
uncertain
This → stand → experts
The UK unemployment rate also remained unchanged at 4.9% in the three months to July, but more timely data estimates that workers on payrolls slumped by 26,000 during August to 30.2 million, following a 19,000 drop in July.
asserted
workers → remain → July
Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “Payrolled employee numbers continue to edge down, with falls over the past year particularly evident in the retail and hospitality sectors.
“Vacancies remain at their lowest level outside the pandemic period for more than a decade, with smaller businesses continuing to report that increased labour costs are affecting hiring decisions.”
asserted
costs → say → decisions
Thomas Pugh, chief economist at RSM UK, said that despite ongoing weakness, the statistics show signs of stabilisation in the jobs market, which may give the Bank room to increase rates to combat inflation in the coming months.
uncertain
which → say → months
Official inflation data on Wednesday will be watched closely by the Bank as fears mount that soaring oil and energy prices caused by the Iran war will send the cost of living racing higher over the next few months.
asserted
cost → watch → months
Read More
Private sector wage growth stood unchanged at 2.9% in the latest ONS figures and remained at six-year lows, but there are concerns that earnings will creep up again as wider inflation builds.
asserted
inflation → read → lows
Mr Pugh said: “The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has so far relied on the weakness of the labour market as cover for keeping rates on hold, but that position looks increasingly difficult to hold if the labour market stabilises and inflation rises to around 4%.
“
asserted
inflation → say → %
We still expect the MPC to hold rates on Thursday, but a rate hike as early as November is now looking much more likely.”
asserted
hike → expect → November
Pantheon Macroeconomic experts now expect the Bank to raise rates in November and next February, as it said attentions are turning to “whether a loosening labour market can offset what surging energy costs will eventually do to wage growth and inflation”.
“But we know there is more work to do, particularly to ensure young people gain the skills, experience and confidence needed to succeed,” he added.
asserted
he → expect → skills
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