Social care vacancy rates have returned to pre-Covid levels, according to the latest data from Skills for Care – the workforce development body for adult social care in England.
The 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.
The new figures – based on data from Skills for Care’s Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) – show that the vacancy rate for 2024/25 fell to 7%. This was a return to similar levels seen prior to 2021/22, when the rate had peaked at 10.5%. The total number of vacant posts in 2024/25 was 111,000, which is a 12.4% decrease on the previous year.
The number of filled posts grew by 3.4% to 1.6 million. This growth was smaller than the previous year, but still the second highest increase on record.
The report shows the turnover rate in the independent sector decreased from 25.8% in 2023/24, to 24.7% in 2024/25.
The number of international recruits fell from 105,000 in 2023/24 to 50,000 in 2024/25. However, the number of posts filled by people with a British nationality continued to fall, decreasing by 30,000 in 2024/25 – a decrease of 3%. The overall decrease in posts filled by people with a British nationality since 2020/2021 is 85,000 (7%).
The total number of posts in adult social care in England – comprising filled and vacant posts – was 1.71m in 2024/25, and this is an increase of 2.2% from 2023/24.
The sector still faces long term recruitment and retention challenges as it is projected to need around 470,000 new posts – an increase of 27% – by 2040 to keep up with the projected growth in the population over the age of 65.
Skills for Care’s Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) has data on more than 700,000 people in over 20,000 locations and enables data to be gathered flexibly on new areas of interest, to support policymaking and understanding of the workforce.
Read the full press release on the Skills for Care website here.
Our member responses to this report:
Care Association Alliance: It’s positive to see fewer job vacancies in adult social care and encouraging that we’re back to pre-Covid levels. What’s worrying is that we’re continuing to lose people from the domestic workforce, and with the visa route for care workers and senior care workers now closed, it will be even harder to fill those gaps. Read the post on LinkedIn here.
Care England: Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said: “This report reflects progress, but it is progress resting on an increasingly precarious base. It would be wrong to view this as a policy success story. In truth, this rebound has been driven by international recruitment, not by structural reforms to make care a more attractive domestic career. That’s a gamble the Government is now walking away from.” Read more here.
Homecare Association: Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, said: “On the surface, vacancy rates are improving but dig deeper and the picture is far more alarming. International recruitment has collapsed, recruitment of British workers is harder than ever, and we are sleepwalking into future workforce shortages unless the government acts now.” Read more here.
National Care Forum (NCF): Vic Rayner, CEO of NCF commented: “We should make no mistake that the 2025 Size and Structure report from Skills for Care underlines the need for action to build a resilient social care workforce that is fit for the future.” Read more here.
