UK job vacancies per 100 employee jobs: wholesale and retail
UK job vacancies per 100 employee jobs: wholesale and retail stood at 2 ratio in Jun 2026, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is one of the indicators in the Labour market table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from May 2001 to Jun 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Labour market table
| Indicator | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | 09-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vacancies per 100 employee jobs, by industry | |||||||||||
| G Wholesale and retail trade | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2.1 | 2 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.1 | |
| H Transport and storage | 2.1 | 2 | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.8 |
Understanding UK job vacancies per 100 employee jobs: wholesale and retail
Active recruitment positions per hundred established employee jobs within wholesale and retail trade enterprises across the United Kingdom measure relative staffing pressure across commerce and distribution networks. By scaling unfilled shopfloor and supply-chain openings against total active employee jobs, this ratio eliminates distortions caused by the sheer size of the commercial sector. The metric includes high-street stores, supermarkets, online retail hubs, and wholesale warehouses, while excluding independent street-market traders without formal payrolls and manufacturing production facilities.
Reading this ratio demands close attention to predictable retail cycles, particularly the sharp pre-holiday recruitment surges that temporarily inflate the measure before subsequent post-holiday contractions. Initial estimates are frequently revised as large national retail chains submit late survey data. Analysts must interpret period-on-period changes carefully, as temporary contract hiring often skews short-term calculations. Comparing this commercial ratio with specialised technical sectors reveals distinct hiring dynamics driven by consumer footfall rather than corporate investment cycles.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this ratio cover both retail shops and wholesale warehouses?
- Yes, it encompasses the entire wholesale and retail trade division, including physical stores, online fulfillment centres, and distribution warehouses.
- How do seasonal sales events affect this indicator?
- Major retail events prompt spikes in vacancy ratios as stores recruit temporary staff to handle increased customer traffic and inventory volumes.
- Why use employee jobs as a denominator here?
- Scaling vacancies against established jobs provides a true measure of labour scarcity, preventing large retail chains from dominating raw count comparisons.