With UK job vacancies at their lowest in nearly four years and permanent roles in London declining for seven straight months as of February 2025*, the job market is under intense strain — and even the most experienced professionals are bearing the brunt.
JobAdder, the recruitment technology platform trusted by over 10,000 recruiters globally, says AI will be key in reducing job seeker ghosting and bringing fairness back to hiring this summer.
New research from the RecruitTech’s State of Recruitment Report 2025 reveals a 26% surge in applications per job role, while 69% of recruiters say employer expectations have grown — creating a perfect storm of pressure, admin overload, and candidate drop-off.Barbara Connell, 54, a single mother of two from London, was earning £130,000 as a senior marketing leader before being made redundant in July 2023. Since then, she has applied for more than 1,000 roles, each with a tailored cover letter — only to be repeatedly ghosted. She’s now accepted a short-term contract with nearly a 50% pay reduction believing CV’s aren’t being seen.
James Blake, 43, from North London, has applied for over 2,000 jobs and heard back from just 20 recruiters. He has since taken a role in media — but at a lower salary.
Then there’s Alex Melnyk, a single dad and former Head of Data at a well-known investment bank, who was ghosted more than 800 times before finally landing a role at a startup.
With the average recruiter now handling 767 CVs per quarter, the system is clearly at breaking point. JobAdder says AI will change that.
Martin Herbst, CEO of JobAdder, adds:
“Unemployment is rising, applications are flooding in, and recruiters are drowning. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to review hundreds of CVs, engage candidates, consult with clients, and keep everyone updated.
“It’s not about replacing recruiters — it’s about supporting them. AI gives hiring teams the time and tools they need to make better decisions, cut through admin, and reduce ghosting. If we keep hiring the old way, great talent will keep slipping through the cracks — and recruiters will burn out. Everyone loses. Something has to give.”
As the UK’s job market enters one of its toughest chapters, JobAdder has hinted it will launch new technology soon that could offer a much-needed reset and improve time and efficiency for recruiters.
“AI is becoming an essential ally,” says Dan Oates, Founder and Career Coach at Recruitment BFF. “When embedded into recruitment workflows, it delivers speed and consistency, even under pressure to help find the right candidates and make sure they get a response.”
JobAdder will be sharing more news in coming weeks.
Sources:
JobAdder’s data is from its State of Recruitment Report 2025 which compares data from Q4 2024 with 2023 with 170 recruiters.
*UK job vacancies lowest in 4 years
*London permanent jobs decline
