Adult Social Care Vacancies Down but Domestic Recruitment Still ‘Challenging’
UNITED KINGDOM, JUL 29 – Vacancy rates fell to 7% in 2024/25 with 111,000 posts vacant, but British nationals filling roles dropped by 30,000 amid reliance on international recruitment and immigration restrictions.
- The adult social care sector experienced a decrease in vacancies, with the rate dropping to 7.0% and approximately 111,000 positions unfilled on average each day during the year ending March 2025.
- This improvement follows government rules from April requiring care providers to prove they tried to recruit domestically before hiring overseas.
- Despite a 52,000 increase in posts filled, the number of roles held by British nationals fell 7% since 2020/21, and new care worker visa applications were closed last week.
- Chief executive Kathryn Marsden emphasized that relying too heavily on this approach is unsustainable and exposes the whole care sector to risks stemming from external policy shifts and political challenges outside its control.
- The sector faces long-term domestic recruitment challenges, with an estimated 470,000 extra workers needed by 2040 to meet growing demand.
13 Articles
13 Articles


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Priory response to Skills for Care’s ‘The size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’ report - Care Talk Business
Jayne Stutt, chief people officer at Priory, said: “We welcome the latest Skills for Care workforce supply and demands trends report which shows that vacancy rates across the adult social care sector have returned to pre-Covid levels, and that the sector has continued to grow despite a drop in international recruitment. “However, as is highlighted,
Social care vacancy rates return to pre-COVID levels
Social care vacancy rates have observed a return to pre-COVID levels, according to the latest data from Skills for Care. The workforce development body for adult social care in England's annual Size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England report also found that the adult social care sector has continued to grow between April 2024 and March 2025, despite a significant fall in the number of international recruits. Th…
In numbers: Social care will need 470,000 extra staff by 2040 | Local Government Chronicle (LGC)
The latest annual report from Skills for Care assessing trends in the adult social care workforce shows that while vacancy rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels they remain higher than for the wider the economy. Demand is increasing year on year and Skills for Care…The post In numbers: Social care will need 470,000 extra staff by 2040 appeared first on Local Government Chronicle (LGC).
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