The number of job vacancies has fallen to its lowest level in more than five years as smaller businesses cut back on recruitment, the latest official figures indicate.
Vacancy numbers dipped slightly over the May-to-July period to 707,000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said small firms were citing labour and operating costs as reasons for scaling back hiring.
The ONS said the labour market was “little changed overall”, with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.9%. 
Patrick Milnes, Head of Policy for People and Work at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Although unemployment has held steady at 4.9%, this cannot hide the wider problems bedevilling the UK’s jobs market.
“Business confidence is at a post-Pandemic low and the squeeze on firms’ finances shows no signs of easing.
“With last week’s announcement that changes to zero hours contracts could cost businesses almost £3bn, many will be reassessing their recruitment plans.
“The BCC’s latest economic forecast suggests unemployment could reach 5.2% by Christmas, with youth unemployment spiraling to 17%, as businesses continue to face pressure from high labour costs.
“While Andy Burnham has spoken about a new deal on education and changes to apprenticeships, if businesses cannot afford to take people on then progress will be slow. The ONS cites a downturn in hiring among SMEs as the main driver of falling vacancies.
“The BCC’s cost stack calculator shows that costs for the average SME have increased by more than 70% in the last ten years due to successive governments’ policies.
“Much more must now be done to bolster business confidence and unlock hiring by tackling cost pressures on firms, including a holiday on employer national insurance contributions for under 25s.”
More detail on the labour market data can be found here.
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