Graduate vacancies hit ten-year low as AI and cost pressures curb entry-level hiring
Graduate job listings on Adzuna fell to 7,826, a decade low, as firms cut hiring due to rising costs and greater AI use.
Graduate vacancies on the Adzuna job board fell to 7,826 in the latest month, a 43% decline from a year earlier and the lowest count since the site started collecting data in 2016. Companies are trimming entry-level hiring because of inflation-driven wage hikes, a £25 billion national-insurance surcharge and the expanding role of artificial intelligence in recruitment and work processes. More than half of hiring managers surveyed by Reed reported that AI is directly limiting the number of graduate roles available.
IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva described AI as a "slow-moving tsunami" that threatens youth employment worldwide, and the CBI warned that rising staffing costs are further suppressing opportunities. While the overall graduate salary average held steady at roughly £27,700, competition for the remaining posts intensified, with 2.33 jobseekers per vacancy. Healthcare jobs, particularly in mental health and nursing, were among the few sectors that continued to see demand.
Why it matters
Fewer graduate jobs limit career starts for young people and signal broader labor market tightening amid AI and cost pressures.
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