Vacancies in England’s adult social care sector have fallen to the lowest level in a decade, but workforce growth has slowed sharply and international recruitment has declined, according to Skills for Care’s latest State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report.
The annual report, covering the year to March 2026, found the adult social care workforce has grown for a fourth consecutive year. However, growth in filled posts slowed to 1.4 per cent, compared with a peak annual increase of 4.9 per cent between 2022/23 and 2023/24.
Skills for Care also reported fewer British workers in the sector and a significant reduction in international recruitment, raising concerns about future workforce supply as demand for care continues to grow.
Young people remain underrepresented in the workforce, accounting for just seven per cent of workers compared with 12 per cent of England’s economically active population, according to the report.
Meanwhile, staff aged under 25 recorded the highest turnover rate of any age group at 35.5 per cent.
Skills for Care chief executive Professor Oonagh Smyth said it is “positive to see that the adult social care workforce is becoming more stable.
“However, workforce growth is slowing, and we must continue to attract more people into adult social care to meet future demand.
“In particular, we need to do more to attract younger people and men into the sector, as set out in the Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care in England,” she added.
The report also highlighted the increasingly important role of social care within the wider health system. It found delegated healthcare activities are carried out by non-nursing staff in 59 per cent of responding Care Quality Commission-regulated services, with an estimated 46 per cent of direct care workers undertaking such activities.
Workforce investment linked to retention
Alongside the recruitment challenges, Skills for Care said its data identified a strong relationship between workforce investment, staff retention and care quality.
The report found care worker turnover rates halved from 34.3 per cent to 15.3 per cent when employers combine competitive pay, guaranteed hours, training, qualifications and full-time employment opportunities.
It also found care worker turnover falls from 28.3 per cent to 20.6 per cent as registered manager experience increases, highlighting the role of leadership in workforce stability.
Professor Smyth said employers that invest in “good employment practices, development opportunities and strong leadership” are more likely to retain staff and deliver high-quality care.
National Care Service workforce challenge
Care policy leaders warned that slowing workforce growth, reduced international recruitment and rising future demand could create significant challenges for the government's National Care Service ambitions.
The King's Fund chief executive Sarah Woolnough said that although vacancy rates have fallen, they are still higher than those seen across the wider economy and warned that the sector’s previous reliance on overseas workers meant that international recruitment restrictions could leave the sector facing significant workforce shortages unless recruitment of British workers increases.
She added the sector would need to improve recruitment and retention, particularly among younger workers, including tackling “poverty pay" and establishing "viable, long-term career paths" amid projections showing the number of 65 year olds and over will reach 14.1 million by 2040.
Social Care Institute for Excellence interim chief executive Gerard Crofton-Martin welcomed "positive signs of stability" from falling vacancies and turnover rates, but said there was "cause for concern" about weak growth in the domestic workforce and declining numbers of internationally recruited staff, adding that social care must become a more attractive career if the sector is to meet future demand.
Work Rights Centre chief executive Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol linked the drop in international recruitment to uncertainty surrounding the future of the Health and Care Worker visa after 2028, and warned it risked putting the future care workforce at risk if ministers do not provide a new route as a matter of urgency.
