BREAKING NEWS: Social care vacancy rate falls to decade low but challenges ahead
Adult social care vacancies have fallen to a decade low, according to Skills for Care.
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The report shows the vacancy rate fell to 6.2% in 2025/26, the lowest since 2015/16. This equates to around 96,000 vacancies on any given day, down 10.5% on the previous year.
Despite this progress, vacancy levels in adult social care remain around three times higher than the wider economy, underlining the continued challenge of recruitment and retention within the sector.
The number of posts filled by people with a British nationality fell by 40,000 over the past year and by 130,000 since 2020/21.
While the number of non-British workers has increased, the removal of a dedicated international visa route means that the number of new international recruits recruited directly from abroad fell to 30,000 in 2025/26, the lowest level in four years.
The sector is projected to require a further 410,000 posts by 2040.
Reaction
Oonagh Smyth, chief executive of Skills for Care, said: ‘It’s encouraging to see vacancies fall to their lowest level in 10 years and the workforce continuing to grow. This reflects the hard work and commitment of employers across the sector to attract and retain staff in a challenging environment.
‘However, the longer-term picture remains difficult. Vacancy rates are still significantly higher than the wider economy, domestic workforce numbers are falling and there is no dedicated visa route for international recruitment – all of which highlight the scale of the challenge ahead.’
Chief executive of The NHS Alliance, Sir Ciarán Devane, warned ‘there could be further trouble ahead with falling numbers of UK-trained staff and a sharp decline in new international recruits’.
He added: ‘We hope that the Casey Review of social care will build on the recent progress to tackle recruitment and retention challenges, and we urge the Government to accelerate the review and move quickly to implement any recommendations.’
Lucinda Allen, senior policy fellow at The Health Foundation, said: ‘Today’s report is a tale of two halves. The social care vacancy rate has fallen to the lowest level in a decade. But workforce growth is slowing as numbers of both British staff and new international recruits fall. These trends highlight the long-term fragility of the care sector.’
