New study suggests strong demand for social workers and healthcare staff

By Alan Jones, Reporter28th April 2025News EnglandAdult Care, Careers, Childrens Services, News England, NHS, Pay and Conditions, Recruitment / Retention, Workforce

Demand for social workers and healthcare staff including nurses has driven an increase in job vacancies, according to a new study.

Jobs site Adzuna said the trend has coupled with an increase in average advertised pay, up to almost £42,000, an 8% rise compared to a year ago.

Vacancies for healthcare and nursing jobs increased by almost 10% last month compared to a year ago, by 8% for social work and travel posts and almost 6% for hospitality and catering.

In contrast, vacancies for graduate jobs fell, as well as positions for construction workers, said Adzuna.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “After more than two years of sluggish annual growth in vacancies, it’s encouraging to see signs of green shoots finally returning to the UK job market, with modest year-on-year growth.

“This will help mitigate the worst fears around the impact of the national insurance and living wage increases for employers in April.

“March’s rise in both advertised roles and salaries points to growing employer confidence – particularly across healthcare, social care and education.

“The sharp reversal in graduate hiring shows how fragile recovery can be, and employers may be waiting for clearer economic signals before committing to entry-level hiring. For now, though, the return to annual growth, however modest, is a positive step.”