📉 New figures landed this week, and they're stark: UK graduate job vacancies have dropped by almost 50% in a year — down from 15,397 in July 2025 to just 8,383 in July 2026, the lowest number since records began in 2016 (Adzuna). There are now 2.14 jobseekers for every graduate vacancy, up from 1.93 a year ago.
The usual explanations get reached for quickly: 🤖 AI absorbing entry-level tasks, rising employer National Insurance contributions, minimum wage increases making junior hires more expensive. All of that is real. But we didn't want to stop at the headline — because behind every one of those missing roles is a small business that decided not to hire. So we wanted to dig deeper and hear it from you directly. 👇
🎯 Be honest with us: what's actually stopping you from hiring a graduate or junior team member right now?
⏰ Is it the cost of taking on someone with zero experience?
💰 The time it takes to train them, when you're already stretched thin?
⏳ The risk of getting it wrong with no HR team behind you?
😬 Or is it simpler than that — the role you'd want to fill just doesn't exist yet at your size?
And the bigger question we keep coming back to: what do you think actually needs to change? A few things we're weighing up — tell us if we're on the right track or missing the point entirely:
✅ Would a scaled-down version of the apprenticeship levy, sized for small business, make junior hiring feel less risky?
✅ Would shared or subsidised training (so you're not building it all yourself) shift the cost equation?
✅ Is this really a cost problem, or is it a confidence problem — not knowing how to manage or mentor someone junior?
✅ Are graduates applying for roles that don't match what small businesses actually need right now?
We want the real picture, not the polished one — good, bad, complicated, all of it. 🙌
📬 If you'd be open to having your story featured, send your honest answer and a short bio to [email protected]. Our COO may feature your story directly in her own post on this.