The teacher labour market has 鈥渃ontracted鈥�, with the number of secondary school job adverts down by around a third compared to last year, a new report suggests. The latest annual recruitment and retention report from Teacher Tapp and 聽shows secondary teacher vacancies have hit the lowest level in the nine-year period data is available. The study, which draws on job advert monitoring as well as daily polls of a pool of more than 10,000 teachers, shows secondary school teacher job adverts are down 32 per cent compared to last year, and 46 per cent on 2018-19. ‘Contraction’ in secondary labour market The report suggests schools are anticipating falling pupils rolls, while a weak wider labour market appears to be suppressing teacher turnover. Teacher Tapp co-founder Becky Allen said: “Schools know their intakes are shrinking, so they鈥檙e not replacing staff who leave, and with fewer opportunities elsewhere, fewer teachers are leaving in the first place. “The result is that staffing problems have gone underground: fewer advertised vacancies, but more classes covered by non-specialists and more teachers reporting that their school doesn鈥檛 have the qualified staff it needs.鈥� ‘Remarkable’ The drop in job adverts is consistent across secondary subjects. Even subjects like maths and science that have historically struggled to recruit have seen job adverts fall by 25 to 32 per cent on last year, and 45 to 51 per cent compared to 2018-19. Languages have seen the largest fall compared to before the pandemic – 56 per cent. SchoolDash founder Timo Hannay described the decrease as “remarkable”. “The decline is broad-based across every subject, which points to a systemic contraction in demand rather than a supply problem in any particular area. With fewer opportunities to move, teachers who might otherwise be looking for a new role are staying put, which further reduces the number of vacancies schools need to fill.鈥� Primary recruitment stabilises SchoolDash monitors vacancies from all secondary schools, sixth forms, and FE colleges in England. The same data is not available at primary level, but polling by Teacher Tapp suggests recruitment at primary has held steady. Falling primary rolls have been reducing demand for teachers. Polling shows 45 per cent of primary teachers say their school has not advertised any jobs this season – broadly unchanged from last year (44 per cent). The proportion saying posts have been advertised and filled also remained stable, at around 21 per cent. At secondary level, the proportion of teachers saying no jobs have been advertised in their department has risen from 53 per cent last year to 60 per cent, consistent with the SchoolDash analysis. No improvement in staffing The drop in recruitment has not translated into better staffing, says the report. The proportion of secondary teachers reporting their department is not adequately staffed with suitably qualified teachers has risen from 21 per cent last year to 24 per cent this year. At primary, the proportion reporting inadequate staffing at their school rose from 16 per cent to 21 per cent. Meanwhile, the proportion of primary teachers reporting a class in their school is led by a short-term temporary, agency, or unqualified teacher has also risen slightly, from 53 per cent last year to 54 per cent. More teachers planning to leave The research also found teachers鈥� long-term commitment to the profession is still lagging well below pre-pandemic levels. Around 61 per cent of the 9,500 teachers polled said they expected to be teaching in three years鈥� time. The figure has been stable since 2022, but still marks a significant decrease compared to the 75 per cent who planned to stay in the profession for three years, before Covid-19 hit. The report tied this to the challenges of managing pupil behaviour and 鈥渢he growing weight of pastoral responsibilities [which] have intensified since the pandemic, making the day-to-day experience of teaching harder鈥�. Meanwhile increased opportunities to work flexibly and remotely in other professions may be luring teachers away from teaching, which remains comparatively 鈥渞igid鈥�. Fewer teachers aspiring to headship The report also suggests a narrowing pipeline of future headteachers. Just 37 per cent of deputy and assistant heads now say they aspire to headship 鈥� down from 55 per cent in 2017. Headteacher turnover at secondary level has fallen to its lowest level out the pandemic. 鈥淚f this trend continues, schools will face growing difficulty in filling headteacher posts in the years ahead, with potential consequences for school leadership capacity across the system,鈥� the report warned.