UK job vacancies: education
UK job vacancies: education stood at 44 thousands in Jul 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 Jul 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Labour market table
| Indicator | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job vacancies by industry | |||||||||||
| P Education | 44 | 45 | 46 | 49 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 50 | 51 | 50 | |
| Q Human health and social work | 121 | 121 | 122 | 125 | 126 | 125 | 125 | 125 | 124 | 122 |
Understanding UK job vacancies: education
Unfilled employment positions located inside schools, universities, higher education institutions, and educational support services across the United Kingdom track the volume of vacant teaching and administrative roles awaiting external applicants. This institutional category isolates publicly and privately funded learning establishments from sibling sectors covering commercial services, healthcare providers, or manufacturing plants. The measurement captures positions where education providers actively recruit new staff through formal vacancies, excluding positions filled by internal teacher redeployment or temporary administrative reassignments.
Reading these figures necessitates accounting for academic term calendars, school holiday periods, and fixed recruitment windows that dictate when educational institutions hire staff. Initial survey estimates are routinely adjusted as institutions reconcile staffing returns with academic year payroll cycles. Analysts ought to compare corresponding academic periods across successive years rather than consecutive months to account for predictable educational hiring rhythms. Correlating these unfilled posts with public sector earnings data illuminates staffing dynamics within government-funded and private educational institutions.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this education series cover both primary schools and universities?
- Yes, the data encompasses nursery schools, primary and secondary education, higher education institutions, and educational support activities across the United Kingdom.
- How do academic terms influence the movement of this data?
- Hiring activity concentrates heavily ahead of new term start dates, creating predictable seasonal surges and troughs in advertised vacancies throughout the year.
- Why should analysts avoid month-on-month comparisons for this series?
- Consecutive monthly changes are distorted by school holiday closures and fixed academic hiring cycles, making twelve-month comparisons a more reliable measure.