How Many Applications to Get a Finance Job in the UK? 2026 Hiring Numbers

UK graduate employers received 140 applications per graduate vacancy on average in 2025, according to the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), the highest figure since it started tracking in 1991. That's the best published answer to "how many applications to get a job", but it counts applications landing on an employer's desk, not how many you need to send. For finance job applications specifically, the 2026 picture is fewer openings than in 2022, more candidates chasing them, and a slight pick-up in permanent hiring this autumn.

Below are the figures that matter, where each comes from, and what they do and don't tell you about your own job search.

Key takeaways

• UK graduate employers received 140 applications per graduate vacancy on average in 2025, the highest ISE has recorded since 1991.
• That 140 is the employer's ratio across all applicants, including duplicates, so it isn't the number of applications you personally need to send.
• UK financial and insurance vacancies fell to 30,000 in June 2026, below the 2022 peak of 56,000 but close to the pre-pandemic range.
• Finance still had one of the highest vacancy rates of any UK industry in mid-2026, at 2.8%.
• Application volumes are driven by duplicate, scattergun and AI-generated applications, so fewer tailored, evidence-backed applications are the way to stand out.

The key hiring numbers for 2026

Every figure here comes from a named, published source. Where we couldn't find a reliable number (for example, applications per hire for finance graduate schemes alone), we've left it out rather than guess.

How many applications does it take to get a job? What "140 per vacancy" really means

The 140 figure is a ratio: total applications an employer receives divided by the places it fills. It describes how crowded the field is. It doesn't mean you personally need to submit 140 applications to land one offer.

Two things make the gap between those ideas bigger than it looks.

First, a lot of those applications are duplicates or low-effort. ISE reports that employers see candidates applying first and deciding later, including submitting duplicate applications across multiple roles within the same organisation. One person applying to five streams at one firm adds five to that firm's count.

Second, the ratio has climbed fast even where hiring held steady. ISE found that 22% of employers had no change in vacancies but still saw applications rise, and a further 16% cut hiring while receiving more applications. Competition per seat went up partly because the same pool of candidates applied more widely, not only because there were fewer seats.

How the graduate ratio has changed over 20 years

The long-run trend is clear. Employers received an average of 38 applications per graduate vacancy in 2002/03. By 2022/23 that had more than doubled to 86, and it now stands at 140.

The rise wasn't even across employers. Two thirds of ISE employers (66%) reported more applications per graduate hire in 2025, but 21% saw a fall. For 23% of employers, applications per graduate hire rose by over 50%.

Graduate applications per job in the UK, by sector

ISE publishes the extremes openly. Retail, FMCG and tourism (290 applications per hire) and health and pharmaceuticals (220) were the most competitive sectors in 2025. Legal (69) and built environment (73) were the least competitive, though ISE notes they're still very competitive.

Finance-specific ratios for banking, accountancy or professional services aren't in ISE's public write-ups. Its sector breakdown of application volumes sits in a members-only "Market Health" dashboard. If you see a precise "applications per hire for Big Four grad schemes" figure online, check where it came from before you rely on it.

Finance job applications in 2026: what the vacancy data says

For people already working in finance, or moving across from another field, the graduate ratio is less relevant than the number of open roles. Here the official data is mixed.

Fewer finance vacancies than at the 2022 peak

Vacancies in UK financial and insurance activities fell to 30,000 in June 2026, the lowest monthly reading since early 2022, according to ONS series data reported by Insurance Business. That's well below the post-pandemic peak of 56,000 in May 2022.

The same report puts it in context: the sector averaged 32,000 vacancies in both Q1 and Q2 2026, and pre-pandemic norms ran between 31,000 and 39,000 for 2017 to 2019. So 2026 isn't a collapse. It looks more like a return to normal after an unusually hot 2022, with openings now near the low end of the pre-pandemic range.

Finance demand still beats most sectors

Relative to its size, finance is still hiring more than most. In June to August 2026, financial and insurance activities had a vacancy rate of 2.8%, joint second-highest of all industries behind mining and quarrying. Education had the lowest, at 1.5%.

Across the whole economy, total vacancies fell to 702,000 in June to August 2026, the lowest level since early 2021. There were 2.5 unemployed people per vacancy in May to July 2026, up from 2.3 a year earlier. That's a whole-economy measure, not a finance one, but it shows the wider pool of people looking for work is bigger than it was.

Autumn 2026: a small pick-up, more candidates

The KPMG and REC Report on Jobs, based on a panel of around 400 recruitment consultancies, found permanent placements rose in September 2026 at the strongest pace in four years, though the rise was marginal. Vacancies were still falling, but at the weakest rate in just over two years.

The catch is supply. Staff availability continued to rise sharply amid reports of redundancies and fewer job opportunities. For you, that means more competition for each opening even as hiring edges up.

Why application numbers keep rising

ISE names four drivers. Each one shapes what a recruiter sees when your CV arrives.

1. A tighter, more uncertain market. Graduate hiring fell 8% year on year, and employers forecast a further 7% reduction for 2025/26, driven mainly by sharp cuts at a small number of large employers.
2. Scattergun applying. Candidates apply to more roles in more sectors and use early stages to test interest. Some graduates are also applying to school and college leaver roles: 40% of employers reported an increase.
3. AI making applications easier. ISE says AI tools make it easier to generate CVs and cover letters, and recruiters report difficulty identifying authenticity and potential. In response, 79% of employers are redesigning or reviewing their recruitment processes.
4. Wider access. Lower academic entry requirements mean more people are eligible for more roles, so applicant pools grow but aren't always well matched.

What the numbers mean for your next application

None of these sources tell you how many applications you should send. What they do show is where the volume comes from: duplicate, generic and AI-generated applications. That's the part of the pile you can stay out of.

• Apply to fewer roles, properly. When employers can't tell real candidates from generated ones, a CV that clearly matches the advert, line by line, stands out. Our finance walkthrough on tailoring your CV to a job description shows how to map each requirement to evidence you have.
• Make your evidence specific and true. Vague lines look like everyone else's. Use the finance CV achievement examples to turn duties into results you can explain in an interview, without inventing figures.
• Prepare for a harder interview. Employers redesigning processes because of AI are more likely to probe what you wrote. Rehearse with STAR interview examples for finance built from your own CV.
• Don't apply to everything at one firm. Duplicate applications are one of the behaviours ISE singles out. Pick the stream that fits your evidence.

If you're coming from another field, the lower vacancy count makes targeting matter even more. Our guide to a career change into finance covers which entry roles to aim for first.

Common misreadings of hiring statistics

• "I need 140 applications to get one offer." No. That's the employer's ratio across every applicant, including duplicates and weak matches.
• "Finance has no jobs in 2026." Finance vacancies are below the 2022 peak but within the pre-pandemic range, and the sector's vacancy rate is among the highest in the ONS data.
• "More applications means better odds." Volume is what's pushing ratios up. ISE still found 93% of employers are almost always or often able to recruit the quality of graduate hire they need, which suggests strong, well-matched candidates are still getting through.
• "These figures cover every finance job." ISE's ratios come from its member employers' graduate recruitment, not the whole market. ONS counts all vacancies by industry, so its finance figure also includes non-finance roles at banks and insurers, and misses finance roles in other industries.

The big application numbers come mostly from generic, duplicate applications, so the way to beat them is a smaller number of tailored ones backed by evidence you can defend. Pick one finance advert you actually want this week, paste it into the Coffee & Excel workspace next to your CV, and check which requirements you can already prove.

Frequently asked questions

How many applications per graduate job are there in the UK?

ISE's 2025 survey found employers received 140 applications per graduate vacancy on average, up from 38 in 2002/03. It varies a lot by sector, from 69 per hire in legal to 290 in retail, FMCG and tourism.

Is it harder to get a finance job in 2026?

There are fewer openings than at the peak. UK financial and insurance vacancies were 30,000 in June 2026 against 56,000 in May 2022. But that's close to pre-pandemic levels, and finance's 2.8% vacancy rate was among the highest of any industry.

Is there a published applications-per-hire figure for finance graduate schemes?

Not publicly. ISE's sector breakdown is in a members-only dashboard, so treat precise finance-only figures online with caution unless they name their source.

Should I send more applications to improve my chances?

Volume is mostly what's pushing the ratios up, and employers are reviewing their processes to filter generic and AI-generated applications. Fewer applications, each tailored to the advert and backed by evidence you can defend, give you a better chance of standing out.