Average advertised vacancies in the UK declined by 7.2% in July 2018 when compared to July 2017, according to Adzuna’s latest report on jobs.

The Adzuna Job Index this month showed average advertised vacancies sitting at 1,143,386 in July 2018, 7.2% lower than a year prior.

Adzuna added that month-on-month figures painted a different picture as July marked the third consecutive month of growth (0.1%) in average advertised vacancies.

The report on jobs also found that the number of jobseekers per vacancy decreased by 11.1% in July when compared to the previous year. Competition for available roles has fallen to 0.37 jobseekers per vacancy, dropping below last month’s historic record to set a new all-time low for job competition.

At the same time, the average advertised UK salary rose by 4.2% in July. However, average UK advertised salaries have dropped month-on-month for the third consecutive month, with Adzuna stating that employers are showing signs of concern over the impact of a no-deal Brexit. The average advertised salary in the UK fell over 2% between June and August 2018.

Among job sectors, the highest average advertised salary was for legal jobs at £42,613 while the biggest annual increase was seen for travel jobs with a 10.3% in July.

The lowest salary and the biggest decrease in pay was seen for graduate jobs with an average salary of £21,146 and a decline of 13.5% in July when compared to last year.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, commented, “Despite positive noises from the labour market in the first half of 2018, this latest data suggests a summer slow down in the UK job market and clear salary stagnation across the country. Britain’s biggest employers are nervous, anxious and looking for answers around Brexit. If this uncertainty continues into late 2018, it’s very hard to see how rates of pay and hiring will improve and return to growth in the short term.”