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UK job vacancies fall to 691,000 as small firms cut back on hiring

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly center (67%).

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show job vacancies in the UK fell by 21,000 in the three months to September, to 691,000. The ONS said small firms were citing labour costs as a key factor in scaling back recruitment. Energy costs linked to the Iran war, along with increases in National Insurance and the minimum wage, were cited by companies as making staff more expensive to employ. The figures also showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in the three months to August, from 4.9%. The BBC reports vacancies are at their lowest level in more than five years, with the largest decrease in construction jobs. The Financial Times places the data ahead of chancellor John Healey’s Budget next week.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. UK job vacancies fell by 21,000 in the three months to September, to 691,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.

    Reported byCenter2Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    BBC News, Financial Times
    Right
    The Telegraph

  2. The ONS said small firms were citing labour costs as a key factor in scaling back hiring.

    One outletBBC News· Center

  3. Companies have cited higher energy costs linked to the Iran war, and increases in National Insurance and the minimum wage, as making staff more expensive to employ.

    One outletBBC News· Center

  4. The unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in the three months to August, down from 4.9%.

    One outletBBC News· Center

  5. Job vacancies are at their lowest level in more than five years, with the largest decrease in construction jobs.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    The Telegraph

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that UK job vacancies fell to their lowest level in over five years, according to the Office for National Statistics. The centre outlets attribute the fall to small firms cutting recruitment because of labour costs, while the right-side Telegraph headline emphasises the scale of the drop as a plunge.

  • the left

    No coverage yet

    No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Headlines state the fall in vacancies neutrally and name the cause as small firms cutting back on recruitment, with the BBC linking it to labour costs.

    Job vacancies fall as small firms cut back on recruitment
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The headline frames the figures as a sharp collapse, describing vacancies as plunging to a five-year low.

    Job vacancies Sensational language“plunge”The word suggests a sudden, dramatic collapse, which goes beyond the reported fall of 21,000 vacancies in one quarter.More neutral: fallDisagree with this highlight? to five-year low
    The TelegraphRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right1

    plunge

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    plungeMore neutral: fall

    The word suggests a sudden, dramatic collapse, which goes beyond the reported fall of 21,000 vacancies in one quarter.

    Job vacancies plunge to five-year low

    Used byThe Telegraph (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

0 outlets

No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • small firms cutting recruitment
  • labour costs as a key factor
  • vacancies at a five-year low
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • vacancies plunging
  • five-year low
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    First to report

    BBC News, Oct 20, 2:49 AM EDT

  • Right

    6 hr 14 min later

    Its first report, Oct 20, 9:02 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BBC NewsCenterOct 20, 2:49 AM EDT
  2. Financial TimesCenterOct 20, 2:51 AM EDT
  3. The TelegraphRightOct 20, 9:02 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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