People applying for jobs in farming and agriculture are more likely to secure a role than jobseekers in any other sector, research suggests.
New analysis shows the farming sector has the lowest number of applicants per job role, with seven per vacancy.
It comes as job vacancies fall to a five-year low. One expert said it was vital for jobseekers to remain “proactive and well-prepared” when applying for any new role.
The next lowest sectors in the study were education, with eight people applying for each vacancy, sport and fitness, also with eight, and health and skilled trades, both with nine.
The research comes from insurer group Hiscox who analysed data from Totaljobs to identify which areas were facing increased pressure from more applicants over the past year.
Farming and agriculture had the lowest number of job hopefuls applying per role but also saw a 9 per cent reduction in year-on-year.
However, it also had a materially lower number of open roles in the period identified than some other sectors – just under 2,000, compared to more than 100,000 live roles across social care, which itself was the sector with the biggest year-on-year decline following a 44 per cent drop.
Skilled trades also saw the third-largest year-on-year drop in applicants per vacancy, down a third (32 per cent).
By contrast, sectors such as animal care and policing both saw jumps of over 100 per cent, while advertising had risen 40 per cent year on year.
The data covered jobs through the second half of 2025, meaning the landscape has potentially changed again in the past few months.
Nick Thornhill, partnerships director at Hiscox, said: “These figures show just how varied the UK job market has become. For jobseekers, the good news is that some sectors are now less competitive, offering a better chance of standing out. At the same time, other industries are seeing a surge in interest, meaning candidates need to be proactive and well-prepared when applying.”
As part of the research, Hiscox surveyed a small number of people over job advert habits and attitudes, which suggested job ads which failed to list the salary was the biggest frustration for jobseekers, with seven in ten saying they were less likely to apply for those roles.
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