LONDON – British companies stepped up advertising for jobs for the first time in 2024, a sign of strength in the labour market, data from Adzuna showed.

The jobs search site said the number of vacancies rose 1.1 per cent in July to 862,043. The number of people looking for work also increased, making it the most competitive market for hiring since the country was emerging from Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in May 2021.

The figures may signal a turning point for official data and other surveys, which have shown that vacancies across the economy have continued to decline. After a shortage of workers pushed up wages and prices in recent years, the Bank of England (BOE) is watching labour market data carefully for signs that those forces may re-emerge.

The data reflects “optimism about the UK economy”, said Mr James Neave, head of data science for Adzuna. “We are used to seeing job postings fall during the summer months as companies put hiring plans on pause because of the holidays. Confidence is even extending into junior-level hiring.”

Official data released last week showed companies added workers at the strongest pace since last November during the second quarter, unexpectedly cutting the unemployment rate to 4.2 per cent. That report showed vacancies continued to decline and wage growth eased. Another survey by Robert Walters showed that companies stepped up hiring for white-collar staff in July, but its broader measure of vacancies remained negative.

Adzuna’s figures, which are more up to date than official data, showed open jobs still at almost 18 per cent below year-ago levels. Advertised wages are up almost 3 per cent in the past year, far slower than the 4.5 per cent pace reported in official data in the three months to June.

Crucially for the BOE, Adzuna showed little change in the value of wages advertised for open jobs between June and July, an indication that inflationary forces in the jobs market are in check.

Adzuna said there was a near 13 per cent jump in July in jobs for domestic help and cleaning staff, and a 3.7 per cent gain for graduate jobs. That was followed by other sectors, with legal rising 3 per cent, manufacturing by 2.7 per cent, and logistics by 2.2 per cent. There were declines in posted jobs for charities, travel firms and hospitality. BLOOMBERG