Time is short on these: 3,022 public-sector vacancies on GovJobs close in the seven days from 24 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 | 4,862 | 161% | 31 days |
| Councils | 1,103 | 36% | 17 days |
| Schools | 685 | 23% | 31 days |
| Universities | 67 | 2% | 15 days |
| Civil Service | 32 | 1% | 21 days |
| Rail & transport | 16 | 1% | 31 days |
| Police & emergency | 13 | 0% | 20 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 | £40,299 | £28,392 – £117,000 | 12 |
| NHS | £39,959 | £10,000 – £180,000 | 3,622 |
| Civil Service | £39,767 | £27,164 – £112,782 | 27 |
| Councils | £33,534 | £10,227 – £142,255 | 868 |
| Schools | £25,186 | £10,164 – £90,000 | 341 |
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 London (942, 31%), South East (906, 30%), North West (878, 29%), East of England (641, 21%), South West (613, 20%) and West Midlands (558, 18%).
Closing soonest
- Property Officer — Councils: Hastings Borough Council · Hastings · £27254 to £31022 per year · closes 25 August
- Midday Supervisor (WEL026BC) — Schools: Wellington Place Primary School · Market Harborough · £24,804.00 - £24,999.00 Annually (FTE)
Approximate starting salary of £4,201 · closes 26 August
- Electrician — Councils: Test Valley Borough Council · England · £37649.52 to £41121 per year · closes 25 August
- Tenancy Sustainment Officer — Councils: Test Valley Borough Council · Andover · £29334.12 to £31937.16 per year · closes 25 August
- Housing Support Officer — Councils: Wokingham Borough Council · Wokingham · £28598 to £39862 per year · closes 26 August
- Customer Services Assistant — Councils: Peterborough City Council · Peterborough · £25583 to £26403 per year · closes 26 August
- Targeted Family Help Social Work Practice Supervisor — Councils: Birmingham Children's Trust · Birmingham · £45091 to £53460 per year · closes 26 August
- Operations Manager — Councils: Peterborough City Council · Peterborough · £47181 to £51356 per year · closes 26 August
- Licensing Officer — Councils: Peterborough City Council · Peterborough · £28598 to £32061 per year · closes 26 August
- Registrar — Councils: Harrow Council · London Borough of Harrow · £34206 to £41712 per year · closes 26 August
- Regulatory Officer — Councils: Peterborough City Council · Peterborough · £35412 to £39152 per year · closes 26 August
- Customer Service Advisor — Councils: Lancaster City Council · Morecambe · £25949 to £31022 per year · closes 26 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._