Britain's summer job market is tightening more sharply than the broader hiring slowdown, making it harder for young people to enter work. The decline adds to concerns about employment prospects for 16-24 year olds, with more than 1 million already outside work, education or training.
Highlights
- Indeed reports UK summer job vacancies have fallen 31% year-on-year, compared to an 11% drop in overall vacancies as of May 22.
- Summer job vacancies are down 71% from the 2023 peak, with the largest falls in education-linked roles and smaller drops in hospitality.
- Over 1 million Britons aged 16-24 are not in employment, education or training, as temporary hiring rises at the expense of permanent roles.
Seasonal hiring decline outpaces wider jobs slowdown
As reported by Reuters, figures from recruitment platform Indeed show summer job vacancies in the UK are down 31% from 2025, a much steeper fall than the 11% annual drop in overall vacancies in Indeed's data as of May 22.Official figures also point to a softer labour market, with vacancies down 7% in the three months to April. Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, says employers are navigating a difficult environment and are responding by pulling back on junior hiring in particular.
Indeed says summer job vacancies are down 71% from their peak in 2023. It defines summer jobs as roles with "summer" in the title, excluding summer internships and similar positions.
Pressure builds on youth employment outlook
The largest declines are in summer teaching roles, typically linked to English-language schools, tutoring and sports camps, while hospitality vacancies show a smaller drop. The pattern suggests some seasonal service demand remains more resilient than education-linked hiring.The weaker market adds to broader concerns over youth employment in the UK. More than 1 million Britons aged 16-24 are not in employment, education or training, equal to one in eight of that age group, and a government report warns the share could rise to one in six.
Businesses have blamed a narrowing gap between the minimum wage for 18-20 year olds and older workers, though economists say the evidence is not conclusive. Earlier this week, data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation also showed a sharp rise in temporary hiring at the expense of permanent roles amid uncertainty over the Iran war.
We previously reported on how the Iran war has disrupted fuel flows and driven a sharp surge in U.S. diesel prices, squeezing Midwest grain and soybean farmers during peak planting. The piece noted that higher fuel and trucking costs, alongside weaker crop prices and low distillate inventories, were further eroding already-thin farm margins and forcing some growers to change field plans to conserve fuel.
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