Seasonal hiring bounces back amid sweltering summer of sport

The number of job postings across the UK rose year-on-year in July 2026, bolstered by a double-digit rise in hospitality and tourism job adverts posted across the summer.

According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) monthly labour tracker, there were just under 1.67 million active job postings across the UK in July, up 7.7% year-on-year but down 2.6% from June.

The REC said summer jobs had made a comeback after “concern about the death of the great British summer job” in 2025. While demand was bolstered by the World Cup and other sporting events this year, the industry body said that longer, hotter summers could mean this trend continues in years to come.

The REC’s chief membership and innovation officer Maxine Bligh said: “This is the summer when the seasonal summer jobs market started to come back. Exceptionally warm weather and a busy calendar of sporting, music and cultural events, such as the men’s football World Cup, has helped boost demand for workers.

“It is not totally straightforward for young people to earn wages just yet, with many entry-level jobs still not bouncing back as much as we would like, but there are undoubtedly more opportunities across hospitality, tourism and construction than last year. The prospect of an Indian summer in much of the UK may mean many of these opportunities last longer than usual.”

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