Time is short on these: 1,347 public-sector vacancies on GovJobs close in the seven days from 3 August 2026. This is what is running out, which parts of the sector are tightest, and how much notice they gave.
What is closing, by sector
| Sector | Closing | Share | Typical notice given |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHS | 3,843 | 285% | 20 days |
| Councils | 974 | 72% | 17 days |
| Schools | 512 | 38% | 20 days |
| Universities | 39 | 3% | 14 days |
| Rail & transport | 25 | 2% | 16 days |
| Civil Service | 20 | 1% | 24 days |
| Police & emergency | 14 | 1% | 14 days |
"Typical notice" is the median number of days between an advert being published and its deadline. A short figure means those employers move fast, so a weekly check is not enough to catch them.
What they advertise
| Sector | Median starting salary | Range | Adverts with a salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police & emergency | £42,000 | £25,272 – £123,513 | 11 |
| Civil Service | £36,562 | £24,937 – £69,501 | 14 |
| NHS | £34,186 | £10,000 – £236,215 | 3,165 |
| Councils | £30,758 | £11,279 – £117,634 | 719 |
| Schools | £25,254 | £10,052 – £84,699 | 285 |
These are advertised starting figures, not average earnings, and only cover the adverts that publish a salary — many public-sector roles quote a band or grade instead. Read them as a guide to the market, not a pay survey.
Where they are
The busiest regions were North West (872, 65%), London (671, 50%), South East (590, 44%), Scotland (505, 37%), West Midlands (505, 37%) and South West (485, 36%).
Closing soonest
- Administration Assistant — Councils: Holy Family Catholic Academy · Platt Bridge · £21,234 - £21,908 per annum. · closes 3 August
- Catering Assistant — Schools: St Gabriel's RC High School · Bury · Grade 1 SCP 3 Actual Salary - £9,207 (Position 1) £10,624 (Position 2) (£24,796 FTE) · closes 3 August
- Missing Service Project Worker — Councils: Tameside Council · Tameside · Grade F. Scale 17 - £31,022 to Scale 22 - £33,699 · closes 3 August
- School Administrator — Schools: Rivington & Blackrod School · Bolton · Actual Annual Salary £21,542 - £22,229 per annum · closes 3 August
- Pastoral Manager — Councils: Marple Hall · Stockport · NJC Salary scale 5 £28,598 to £31,022 (actual £26,106 to £28,319) · closes 3 August
- Inclusion Key Worker — Schools: Little Lever School · Bolton · Grade F SCP 17 23 (Actual Annual Salary £26,564 £29,485) · closes 3 August
- Finance Support Administrator — Councils: Windlehurst School · Stockport · Scale 4 (£21,649.95 - £23,075.85 per annum) · closes 3 August
- Mid-day Supervisor — Schools: St Bernadette’s RC Primary School · Unsworth · Grade 1 SCP 3 Actual Salary £4,249 (£24,796 FTE) · closes 3 August
- Stakeholder Engagement Manager — Councils: Tameside Council · Tameside · Grade I. Scale 35 - £46,142 to Scale 37 - £48,226 · closes 3 August
- After School Club Playworker — Schools: St Bernadette’s RC Primary School · Unsworth · Grade 3, SCP 5-6 £5,846-£5,938 (FTE £25,583-25,989) · closes 3 August
- Customer Relations Officer (Adults) — Councils: Wigan Council · Wigan · Grade 7, £32,597 - £36,363 per annum. · closes 3 August
- Teaching Assistant — Schools: Adelaide School · Crewe · £25,989.00 - £26,403.00 Annually (Actual)
Staffordshire Grade 4, SCP 6-7 Term Time, plus inset days · closes 3 August
Search them all
These are a sample — browse every role closing this week with the closing-within-7-days filter, or set up a saved search to get deadline alerts by email.
_Every figure above is counted from the GovJobs index — the UK public-sector vacancies we hold at the time of writing — rather than from official statistics, and the live counts change daily. Adverts that carry no salary, region or closing date are excluded from the section that needs them, so section totals will not always match. Applications are always made on the official employer or source website._