Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the decline in job vacancies to the lowest level in five years; which regions and sectors have experienced the largest falls in vacancies over the last 12 months; and whether the Government plans to expand employment support, retraining schemes or apprenticeships in response to the weakening labour market.

The independent Office of National Statistics (ONS) publishes vacancies over time by sector which can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/datasets/vacanciesbyindustryvacs02

The ONS official statistics shows that the decline in vacancies in the UK is a long-term trend that began in summer 2022 under the previous Government. Every sector of the economy has seen declines in vacancies since summer 2022.

The Department of Work and Pensions is committed to supporting people into employment. We are transforming our Jobcentres into a modern Jobs and Careers Service; where appropriate, Work Coaches identify skills gaps and signpost jobseekers to relevant training and provision, including Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, sector‑based work academy programmes (SWAPs), and free courses for jobs, as well as essential English, maths and digital skills.

We are delivering our flagship Youth Guarantee, ensuring support for young people through investing £2.5 billion over the next three years. Further, we are empowering local areas to explore new ways to reduce economic inactivity through youth and inactivity trailblazers. We are also developing tailored support for those with health conditions and disabilities through our Pathways to Work, which is backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade.

This Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships over the next three years. We are also expanding opportunities through new foundation apprenticeships in hospitality and retail, launching a level 2 Administrative Assistant apprenticeship from August 2026, and introducing a £2,000 hiring payment for non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) that recruit 16-24-year-old apprentices.