When did the job market get so bad?
Posted by Loose_Avocado4670@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 69 comments
[removed]
Posted by Loose_Avocado4670@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 69 comments
[removed]
AffectionateTrash146@reddit
Airport security is usually keen on hiring at this time of year to prepare for summer, pay is usually pretty decent too
vikingveteran@reddit
I applied straight from the military and didn’t hear anything back
AffectionateTrash146@reddit
Surprising, they're usually constantly hiring at this time of year. Hope something works out soon for you. I work at a fruit market currently and there's usually always warehouse and driver jobs to be filled.
GooseyDuckDuck@reddit
It's not though, you are seeing it through the lens of someone just joining the market for the first time. The unemployment rate is at one of the lowest in around 4 decades.
JurassicM4rc@reddit
Overall unemployment may be low, but if you are unemployed right now (such as myself) finding work is much harder than it has been in the past. I'm mainly looking for scientific postdoc work, which granted is a very competitive career path, but there are ~4,000 postdocs at my university and only ~40 vacancies across the whole uni. Finding work in graduate/entry level jobs such as research assistant or lab tech is just as difficult at the moment.
Even getting into more generic entry level jobs in hospitality/cleaning/retail is like running into a brick wall right now. Either you get no reply, or they want years of experience or qualifications that typically weren't needed 10+ years ago.
GooseyDuckDuck@reddit
The issue you have is you have narrowed down your search to a specific sub section of the market.
We have more grads now than ever, everyone encouraged to go to uni, without addition grad roles - companies aren’t going to create jobs just because there are more grads.
I think it’s great we have a better educated population, but that just creates more supply for the same number of jobs.
Swimming-Lie5369@reddit
When I graduated in 2023 I got 6 interviews in the span of 3 months
When I was looking in 2025/26 I got 3 interviews in the span of 6 months.
JurassicM4rc@reddit
Alright, stop showing off! I've been applying for jobs since December and only had 1 interview (and they ultimately went with someone with more direct experience).
I got rejected for one job 3 times recently. I wouldn't mind but I only applied once!
Swimming-Lie5369@reddit
Care work is always hiring and a good foot in the door
AnonymousTimewaster@reddit
Foot in the door for what exactly? A career in care work?
Swimming-Lie5369@reddit
You can get qualifications that can put you onto a managerial path.
You can also be a key worker which gives you cases to look after in an advocacy role.
You gain experience with medication management and kitchen hygiene which can help you get into the service industry if you want.
There's loads of transferrable skills, it isn't just wiping asses.
inevitablelizard@reddit
Problem is care work really isn't suitable for everyone. You need to be a certain type of person to handle it, a certain personality.
Swimming-Lie5369@reddit
What sorta personality do you mean?
Just curious because I started out in care
Designer-Way-7922@reddit
Right when I need the job
OGBrianPeppers@reddit
Entry level positions that would typically be filled by youngsters are now being filled by adults from foreign lands. There’s millions more people in this country compared to the 90s. Not the only factor but something that needs to be mentioned considering the forum we are on.
helpnxt@reddit
Honestly its not that bad, but it was better a couple years ago when all the companies needed to hire post covid so now every stat on the job market is basically look this is awful since just after everyone lost their job due to early covid issues.
Heres the unemployment graph, in the 90's it peaked at 10%, we are currently under 5%.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/timeseries/mgsx/lms
Adding to this I am like mid 30's and most the things I see people complaining about, no replies, long waits for replies and no feedback is exactly what I have experienced everytime I've been job hunting for the last 15 years. Before this job I have now (that I got during the good times in Covid times) I think every job that hired me replied like 2-3 months after I had replied.
Best tips for you:
AnonymousTimewaster@reddit
I graduated just before covid and it was really bad then. The only time I've known it to not be utter shit was 2021 up until the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
GlumAd9856@reddit
There are some false memories going on here.
When I finished my degree from a top 10 university in 2003 I didn't hear back from any of the roles I applied for. I was told that I wouldn't even be able to get temp admin jobs until the students went back after summer. So, I got a job in the only thing I had experience in, labouring on a building site.
Then in October I was finally able to get my first temp office role opening mail and doing data entry. I did 4 more of those sorts of jobs over the next 12 months, before finally being offered an enter-level job in the civil service on £14k a year. Even that was only a 2 year fixed term contract.
iMac_Hunt@reddit
I do think things seem trickier now. A lot of the big grad schemes that I was familiar with back in 2013 have really trimmed down the number of graduates they take in. That said it’s never been easy and getting a good job as a graduate has always been painfully difficult.
Senior market is fairly strong but the junior market seems really bad.
GlumAd9856@reddit
I think that the graduate schemes were always a small % of what people went into straight after uni.
The vast majority of graduates go into entry level jobs that have no relation to their degree. It's only after a getting experience there that you can start apply for more relevant roles.
Implematic950@reddit
Job market has always been shit but especially Went down hill from the 90’s When previous governments decided to encourage every man woman and their dog to get a degree, now the market is flooded with degree level candidates applying for jobs. Often not relevant to the field they are applying for.
Loose_Avocado4670@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I think this is a big reason.
Wasn't Blair's goal to get 50% of young people in university? Since then, loads of people have gone, in fact far too many, and when they can't get jobs due to the over saturated market, they move onto entry level jobs like the ones I'm applying for, hence why I'm struggling so much.
Implematic950@reddit
Yes some figure like that rings a bell. And you’re bang on with entry level positions. Allegedly doing a degree shows employers that you can apply yourself in a open academic setting outside of compulsory education but having done both AS/A2 levels and 2x modern apprenticeships in different t subjects, neither have helped my career as once most providers get their funds they really don’t give a shit and support during the course is non existent and again the job market is saturated. my generation was used as the guinea pigs for education reforms during Blair brown years and it’s fucked us over big time and has had repercussions for the younger generations hoping the job market now.
Loose_Avocado4670@reddit (OP)
It's a knock on/domino effect unfortunately. My children will likely suffer the concequences too.
I'd like to think that in the future things will get better but I really don't know.
blacksmithMael@reddit
Post the financial crash, so 2008ish. That was both the first and last time I applied for employment though, so it may have been better in the meantime.
We are all still paying for that crisis and how it was handled.
phatboi23@reddit
2008 "once in a lifetime"
2016 "once in a lifetime"
2020 "once in a lifetime"
out of college in 2007 has ruined everything :/
SaltyName8341@reddit
I never had trouble until after pandemic, 2022 was bad but now it's atrocious.
DigitalStefan@reddit
I suspect the job market has worsened (and become better, and then worse again) in different sectors at different times.
15+ years ago everyone needed AAT qualified accounts workers, to the point where demand outstripped supply and they started taking on anyone who could count the number of fingers on one hand and tell them "somewhere between 4 and 6". Colleges and external training providers cottoned on, started selling courses to get people qualified and everyone jumped in.
Of course, the jobs got filled and there was a glut of qualified people looking for fewer and fewer available roles.
My niche is "people who know how to use Google Tag Manager, understand HTML, JavaScript, CSS, web security, consent management" and a few other related, odd bits of tech. The job market in my niche is... tiny. It lurches from absolutely no available positions in the entirety of Europe and UK to 3-5 positions becoming available that need filling at short notice.
heroics-delta8s@reddit
We have had dramatically higher levels of employment than pre crash. From about 2013 to Covid we had full employment.
Tricky_Meat_6323@reddit
A lot of the low paid jobs (the starter jobs for young people, retail etc) have been filled with people from other countries.
Used-Needleworker719@reddit
I would argue they’ve been replaced by automation.
Nearly everyone my generation had a Saturday job in retail. Now, those jobs are gone because they don’t need the staff for self service, or they say you have to be available on zero hours during the day which rules out students/ teens.
Even in my professional industry, entry level / grad jobs are disappearing due to AI which is all well and good now, when you have professional teams who know what they are doing and can stop mistakes, but the newbies who do come in, have no idea how to to do anything at all without the use of AI, so in a few years time it’s going to be a total shit show
pajamakitten@reddit
A lot of teens near me do the picking for online orders for supermarkets nowadays.
lanadelkray@reddit
Exactly. Lots of students and foreign graduates who completed an MSc from a row ranking British uni and have a 2-year grad visa, struggling to find employment in the UK
thegerbilmaster@reddit
This. And it's also a lot more due expensive to employ young people because of the minimum wage increases and employer NI increases.
Zentada@reddit
Available-Spray2576@reddit
Mate I got a job the other day after being on the market for 4 days and I didn't even apply for the job.
peelyon85@reddit
Jobs like retail and fast food were filled with a lot of young staff.
Over the years these companies have retained a lot of workers so instead of loads of youngsters having a job for a while then moving on ready for the next youngster theyve stayed.
People are having to work more hours retire later in life and so everyone is 'stuck'.
Ive heard it compared to buying a house and stuck in a chain. You need the top of the chain to retire for everyone to 'shuffle up' the job ladder.
With the lower jobs as well people are working part time at multiple places as they cant afford it otherwise.
Essentially the whole market is a mess!
AdministrativeShip2@reddit
Except nowadays when someone at the top retires their duties get shuffled downwards with no replacement.
CH4RL13WH1T3@reddit
I like your analogy but what jobs do become available are massively oversubscribed nowadays. Kids are competing with adults in their 30s and even 40s for menial jobs
BigFloofRabbit@reddit
Absolutely. Part of it is the cost of living.
I work part time at Dominos in the evenings because my professional job isn't paying enough to get my mortgage out of the way. A lot of the other drivers are basically in the same situation as me. Meanwhile the teenagers who would've done it before won't get a look in.
Loose_Avocado4670@reddit (OP)
I'm sorry to hear that your professional and ( I assume) full time job dosent pay enough to cover your mortgage. That's absolutely insane.
There's a lot of ghost jobs nowadays, too. I've been applying on the company website to have a slightly higher chance of hearing back.
I've also emailed a few independent businesses.
Is domino's a good company to work for? I've looked on their website and there's no vacancies in my area at the minute, but for future reference would you mind saying your experience with the company?
BigFloofRabbit@reddit
Full time, yeah. In fairness it does cover my mortgage, I'm just trying to pay it off early.
Dominos is a great second job because it is zero hours so there are no obligations. Also it is quite a fun place to work if you don't mind grafting.
Not a good source of primary income though, because if you don't meet their expectations for whatever reason (whether fair or not) then your hours might get cut.
O133@reddit
The stats don't necessarily back it up being historically bad, but worth remembering a lot of menial jobs (even in fast food) have been automated away, which is good for productivity but bad for availability of entry level jobs not requiring lots of education or specialist skills
CH4RL13WH1T3@reddit
Even the automated factories are disappearing
GuiltyCredit@reddit
I have 10 years on most of my colleagues. I was made redundant and took what I could.
72dk72@reddit
It's not had its just a different market. Lots of people with degrees will be after the same jobs.
O_Beast@reddit
"it's not bad"
Fair play for remaining optimistic. Or being completely disconnected
72dk72@reddit
No it's called being realistic.
O_Beast@reddit
Realistically the job market is very bad.
Front_Scholar9757@reddit
How can you say it isnt bad & then follow with some of the reasons why it is so bad?
I know qualified, experienced people who have applied for 100s jobs with no success.
I know others looking to start their career, struggling to find that first role. Especially in admin, where ai is making efficiencies.
I entered the job market full time in 2018. Things were competitive then, but now I feel for anyone new to it.
bahumat42@reddit
Walking into a job the same day hasn't been a thing in a long while (unless you are ungodly perfect for it.)
As for the current bad state of things, its been rough since covid, and getting worse.
BoomSatsuma@reddit
It’s been like this since 2008 and getting worse since.
Mr_Coastliner@reddit
I wouldn't say so. Perhaps initially, but the years leading up to Covid were not bad at all.
my-comp-tips@reddit
When I left school in 91, I had a pick of factory jobs I could go to. Yes things are going wrong both internally and externally, and I dont know what the solution is anymore. All I know is that it feels like this current government is not helping the situation.
mishlufc@reddit
A lot of people are going to say the 2008 financial crash, but I think they're also massively overlooking the impact of widespread internet access and online recruitment. You no longer check for jobs in a newspaper or just happening to see a 'now hiring' sign or whatever. You go online and look at all the jobs within your search criteria. You can view pretty much all jobs within your city, or wherever you're willing to commute or even relocate to. So there's inevitably going to be so much more competition for every job, because so many more people are seeing the job advert.
Lunaspoona@reddit
My second job is fast food and its been like it for a while. We used to have 16-18 year olds in the evenings and weekend for the phones but a combination of things like increasing online orders cut the hours to mostly weekends. They also got hammered on the Tax, NI and NMW increases more recently. The opening hours have reduced to account for those costs as well so less hours for everyone overall. Now they just cross train everyone and are expected to manage with less and less staff. It's sad. Ive had this job 10 years around a main job and it's changed so much! I can't even remember the last time students were hired. If I left they wouldn't even replace me.
BigFloofRabbit@reddit
Same. I work at Dominos around my day job. Used to be teenage CSRs in store, now the Store Manager has to do everything.
Serious-Top9613@reddit
Retail in my area is borderline nonexistent.
A friend of mine was hired by River Island back in November 2025, just for the branch to close down in January 2026. She and her sister (the branch manager) are still looking for another job even now. My local Tesco gave hints that they were letting go of floor staff last year. Another friend has worked there for as long as I’ve known her, and started applying elsewhere in case she was one of the unlucky ones. They didn’t keep on any Christmas temps like they usually do last year either.
The high street is just restaurants, pubs, charity shops, and the odd bank. No cafes left or anything. The one I used to visit regularly with my late mother (who passed over a decade ago) even closed down recently.
Loose_Avocado4670@reddit (OP)
Yeah, the temp thing is pretty accurate.
My boyfriend worked in a well known retail chain for a while and he said they hired 2 christmas temps but didn't keep them on after as the store simply couldn't afford/just wasn't worth it to keep them on.
It's a very sad reality we live in.
Sorry to hear about your mum btw.
Far_wide@reddit
Unemployment has ticked up somewhat from historic lows. No one factor, but things like increased employer NI, a greatly increased minimum wage, and less discretionary spend available to consumers are some of the factors.
Looking at the historical unemployment rate though, your Mum's view might be somewhat rose-tinted, as unemployment was higher throughout the 90's.
(all of the above stats according to AI, I ain't gonna fact check it)
But it may well be that minimum wage jobs were easier to come by to be fair. It's part of the problem of raising the minimum wage comparatively high.
Careless_Soup_109@reddit
Remember that for most of the 90s, there was no minimum wage
Far_wide@reddit
Huh, I didn't realise it came in so recently (yes I know it's not recently, arghhhhh)
Still, you know what i mean, low paid jobs probably were easier to come by, especially if they could get away with paying tuppence ha'penny!
Mr_Coastliner@reddit
I'd also imagine there was a pretty large amount of 'cash in hand' jobs back then. I think one of the big differences is for then vs now is how you'd apply. Walking around with your CV. Takes effort as opposed to now where you could apply to 20 jobs in an hour online.
Some_Masterpiece6639@reddit
Because of bureaucracy, there’s lots of hoops to jump through now, several rounds of interviews and online tests for jobs.
AI has taken over HR recruitment practices so it scans cvs and singles people out.
Too many graduates, not enough graduate jobs, so people lower their standards and apply for everything and anything and they have a high influx of applicants vs jobs available.
Existingsquid@reddit
Your mums wrong
Obvious_Compote1025@reddit
This has got to be the most boring post I’ve seen on here for a while
ice-lollies@reddit
I don’t know if this helps but the first thing my husband looks at when hiring in hospitality is whether an applicant can get back safely from work to home (late nights) so make sure you cover that.
It’s also not the busiest time at the moment.
It might be worth trying seasonally busy places like soft play centres, garden centres or tourist attractions that might be gearing up for the summer.
Potential-Living-676@reddit
2020, before Covid.
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