British employers advertised the fewest jobs for the month of January in four years last month but salaries continued to rise strongly, according to figures published on Monday that illustrate the challenge facing the Bank of England.

Job search company Adzuna said the number of vacancies on offer fell by 4.5 per cent compared with January last year to just under 828,500, the lowest January figures since 2021, Adzuna said.

However, the average advertised salary increased by 7.0 per cent compared with a year earlier, keeping up a strong run of gains.

“This reflects the increasing competition for talent in key sectors, even as overall hiring slows,” Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said.

The biggest wage increases were offered in the maintenance, manufacturing and retail sectors.

The BoE expects a slowdown in the labour market in 2025 which could help reduce inflationary pressures in the economy and allow the central bank to continue reducing interest rates to help an economy that is barely growing.

Official data released last week showed the labour market held up better than expected in the final quarter of 2024 with pay rising by 6 per cent, although the number of job vacancies on offer was also the lowest for a January since 2021 at 759,000.

A survey of purchasing managers suggested private-sector employers cut back on staff in February.