For roles advertised in November, there was a of 13% drop in hiring for accounting roles, along with a 16% drop in consultancy hiring, according to the latest UK Job Market Report by jobs site Adzuna.

This drop in hiring comes at a time when competition is at a four year high, as the jobseekers per vacancy ratio climbed to its highest level since May 2021, at 2.12 people per available role.

The report blamed the drop on uncertainty surrounding the Budget, saying that in November ‘businesses stalled hiring plans, causing the vacancy numbers to fall below 800,000 for the first time since March 2021’.

Lack of vacancies, and increased competition was also picked up in the December 2025 UK Report on Jobs by KPMG and REC.