Employment Hero's First Annual Jobs Report: Majority of UK Workers Prioritise Job Security Amid Stuttering Market

The UK's employment landscape has shown signs of a significant slowdown over the last 12 months. As of July 2025, while the employment rate remains positive on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, standing at 3.1%, this growth rate has decelerated markedly. This indicates a weakening labour market compared to the same period in 2024, when the YoY growth rate was consistently hovering around 8%. This slowdown coincides with the National Insurance reforms introduced in April. The UK's employment landscape...

The UK's employment landscape has shown signs of a significant slowdown over the last 12 months. As of July 2025, while the employment rate remains positive on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, standing at 3.1%, this growth rate has decelerated markedly. This indicates a weakening labour market compared to the same period in 2024, when the YoY growth rate was consistently hovering around 8%. This slowdown coincides with the National Insurance reforms introduced in April.

Job-hugging Britain

Employment growth is slowly recovering, but year-on-year gains are down and new job opportunities are only just picking up. In this weaker labour market, employees are holding onto their roles and 'job-hugging' is on the rise.

Further research in the report - powered by YouGov - found the majority of workers (55%) are now prioritising job security, putting their ambitions on hold while they await signs of sustained labour market growth and improved business confidence. This rises to 65% among 18–34-year-olds.

The research data also reveals that the majority of employees (59%) think that the UK labour market is getting worse, while 51% do not feel confident about landing a new job within three months. This reflects wider sentiment around the intensely competitive nature of the labour market, as 40% feel there is too much competition for jobs, rising to 53% among 18–34-year-olds.

Commenting on the findings, Kevin Fitzgerald, UK Managing Director at Employment Hero said: "While the labour market is showing early signs of recovery, our data shows we've still got a long way to go before workers feel confident again. With most people holding a negative view of the jobs market, it's no surprise we're seeing more 'job hugging' as employees look to weather the storm. But this isn't a long-term solution. Job mobility is key for growth - both for people and businesses.

Recent changes to the tax regime have also knocked confidence. The rise in employer National Insurance Contributions has had a ripple effect right across the economy, and we're now at a critical juncture. As we head towards the Autumn Budget, avoiding more tax changes that trigger knee-jerk reactions from businesses will be vital if we want to build on the early signs of recovery."

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Notes to editors

Employment Hero Annual Jobs Report

The Employment Hero Annual Jobs Report is a flagship research series delivering deep insights into jobs, wages, hiring trends, and workforce sentiment across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Built on real-time, aggregated, and anonymised data from over 350,000 businesses and 2.5 million employees globally, the report combines Employment Hero's proprietary platform data, an independent YouGov Plc online survey of 3,635 employed adults across 4 markets, and expert commentary from leading economists. The result is one of the most trusted and comprehensive views of the employment landscape.

For the YouGov Plc. survey, the total sample size was 1,081 employed adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 4th - 12th August 2025. The survey was carried out online.

About Employment Hero

Employment Hero is the global authority on employment, offering a world-leading Employment Operating System (eOS) that simplifies and optimises every stage of the employment process. Its award-winning platform combines HR, payroll, recruitment, and employee engagement tools with the groundbreaking employment superapp, EH Work, which integrates career management and financial wellbeing.

Serving over 350,000 businesses and managing more than 2.5 million employees worldwide, Employment Hero reduces administrative burdens by up to 80%, enabling organisations to focus on their goals and create more productive, engaged teams. By revolutionising the employment marketplace, Employment Hero is making employment easier, more valuable, and rewarding for everyone.

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