Last Updated on June 24, 2026
The vacancy rate in England’s adult social care sector falls to its lowest level in a decade in new data published by Skills for Care. The latest Size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England report shows that the workforce continued to grow in 2025/26, marking the fourth consecutive year of expansion. The findings are based on data from Skills for Care’s Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC‑WDS), which contains information on more than 750,000 people across over 21,000 care-providing locations.
There were 22,000 more filled posts than the previous year – an increase of 1.4% – although this is the slowest growth rate in four years. The report also highlights a significant drop in vacancies. The vacancy rate fell to 6.2% in 2025/26, the lowest since 2015/16. This equates to around 96,000 vacancies on any given day, down 10.5% on the previous year. Despite this progress, vacancy levels in adult social care remain around three times higher than the wider economy.
The number of posts filled by people with a British nationality fell by 40,000 over the past year and by 130,000 since 2020/21. While the number of non-British workers has increased, the removal of a dedicated international visa route means that the number of new international recruits recruited directly from abroad fell to 30,000 in 2025/26, the lowest level in four years. According to Skills for Care, the data points to ongoing long-term challenges. To meet the needs of an ageing population, the sector is projected to require a further 410,000 posts by 2040.
Commenting on the publication of the new report, Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive Officer at Skills for Care, said, 'It's encouraging to see vacancies fall to their lowest level in 10 years and the workforce continuing to grow. This reflects the hard work and commitment of employers across the sector to attract and retain staff in a challenging environment. However, the longer-term picture remains difficult. Vacancy rates are still significantly higher than the wider economy, domestic workforce numbers are falling and there is no dedicated visa route for international recruitment – all of which highlight the scale of the challenge ahead.
'We need a long-term, collective approach. Skills for Care is bringing partners together to develop a 10-year plan to attract more people into adult social care and support them to build rewarding careers. This work is central to delivering the Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care in England and ensuring the sector has the workforce it needs for the future.'
Rachael Dodgson, Chief Executive at Dimensions, said, 'Skills for Care's latest report shows social care still holding on – but only because care and support workers, providers and local authorities have heroically absorbed years of pressure that should have been addressed by national policy. We welcome the fact that filled posts have increased, and that retention has improved. That is our experience at Dimensions too. And thankfully, vacancies have fallen to their lowest level in a decade – but this figure is still around three times the vacancy rate for the wider economy.
'The deeper message is critical: domestic recruitment is falling and overseas recruitment has dropped sharply. As evidenced by the report, the number of care workers of British nationality have been falling for the last half-decade, which is particularly concerning in the context of further restrictions on overseas workers. Fixing social care's workforce demand needs to be a top priority for the next Prime Minister. We have seen promising signs from senior political figures who understand that social care is central to wider public health outcomes, helping people live ordinary lives in their communities, and a more resilient NHS.
'Bluntly, if Government wants a stronger domestic workforce, it must fund one. We expect this funding from the Government's upcoming Fair Pay Agreement. Yet frontline care and support workers are being asked to wait until 2028 for the first agreement to take effect. That timeframe is much too slow for a sector facing today's inherent and systemic recruitment challenges.'
Gerard Crofton-Martin, Interim Chief Executive at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), said, 'The latest data gives grounds for cautious optimism. It is encouraging to see vacancy rates return to the lowest levels in a decade and the workforce continue to grow.
'But one of the key drivers of workforce growth in recent years has been international recruitment. International colleagues have made an invaluable contribution to social care. However, changes to the migration system mean that international recruitment alone cannot provide a sustainable long-term answer to the sector's workforce challenges. This is against a backdrop of a reduction in British nationals joining the workforce. Together, these trends expose the fragility of the sector's workforce pipeline.
'The progress shown in this year's figures is welcome, but sustaining it will require long-term workforce planning and investment. Social care must be seen as a valued career with clear progression opportunities, competitive pay, and access to high-quality learning and development. Building a strong domestic workforce is essential if we are to create a resilient social care sector capable of meeting growing demand in the years ahead.'
Karolina Gerlich, Chief Executive at The Care Workers' Charity, said, 'This report is good news, and we should say so. A vacancy rate at its lowest in a decade is the result of hundreds of thousands of people choosing this work, often for far less than it is worth. But Skills for Care is right to be honest about what holds that progress up. We have grown the workforce from overseas while the number of British care workers has fallen by 130,000 in five years, and the visa route that made that possible has now closed.
'At the same time, we are asking the international care workers already here to wait 15 years for indefinite leave to remain, which is a long time to ask someone to hold their life in place. The way to build a stable workforce is to make care a job people can afford to do, and to give the people already doing it a fair route to settle. We are ready to work with Government, employers and commissioners to turn this progress into something that lasts, and to bring care workers into shaping the plan that does it, through our Care Worker Advisory Board.'
The full Size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England report is available now on the Skills for Care website.
In other news, the National Care Forum (NCF) is looking forward to the 2026 Care Innovation Challenge Weekend, as anticipation builds for the annual event.