Market News

Remote jobs have fallen to their lowest level since Covid as bosses demand workers get back to the office.

The number of working from home jobs being advertised in December was 42pc lower than the same period last year, while office-based jobs ads saw a surge, according to jobs site Adzuna.

Rising unemployment levels mean bosses have more power to demand workers come to the office, leading to a decline in home working.

According to Adzuna, employers have been reaping the benefits of the jobs crisis by increasingly hiring office-based roles, which workers at one time may have snubbed in favour of remote positions.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows there are now 2.3 jobseekers vying for every advertised vacancy, with unemployment hitting the highest rate since 2020 at 5.1 pc.

Britain has long been considered Europe’s work from home capital, with employees spending more days away from the office than in any other nation on the continent, according to a report from King’s College London.

The fall in remote jobs is part of a broader trend, with vacancies 15pc below those in December 2024, according to Adzuna’s data. This means that 2025 saw the lowest average vacancy levels of any full year since 2020.

Andrew Hunter, from Adzuna, said: “December’s figures confirm what the direction of travel throughout 2025 made clear: last year was one of the toughest years for jobseekers since the pandemic.”

“Vacancies fell for six consecutive months, competition for roles intensified and hiring slowed across many of the UK’s largest sectors as the usual year-end uplift failed to materialise,” he said.

Joblessness in the UK now rivals the EU’s for the first time since the euro was launched, with the narrowing of the gap suggesting Britain’s problems are rooted in government tax policies.

Labour’s slew of anti-business policies and a tough economic environment has left businesses cautious around hiring.

Many expect the Employment Rights Act, which became law in December, to fuel unemployment as employers look to reduce risks associated with biggest expansion of workers rights in over a decade.

Policies like statutory sick pay from day one and scrapping zero hours contracts are expected to hit retail and hospitality sectors hardest.

The Government recently estimated that the cost of the bill would be around £1bn, but industry experts like the British Chamber of Commerce say the figure is a “massive underestimate”.