UK’s CV Data Reveals Persistent Rise in Employment Gaps
New research from LiveCareer UK, a leading career service dedicated to CVs and cover letters, reveals a long-running and intensifying trend: employment gaps in the UK are more common than ever—and growing. Mind the Gap: 2025 UK Employment Gap Report is based on an analysis of 19 million UK CVs created using LiveCareer’s online CV builder between January 2020 and June 2025. It tracks the prevalence of employment gaps of various lengths, including short (1–2 months), medium (3–6 months), and long-term (12+ months).
Key Findings:
Record High in Long-Term Gaps
In 2025, 24% of UK job seekers had a gap of 12+ months—up from 18% in 2020, marking a 33% increase in long-term unemployment.
1 in 3 CVs Now Show a 6+ Month Gap
32% of CVs in 2025 featured a gap of at least 6 months—up from 24% in 2020.
Short Gaps Reflect Job Volatility
Nearly 1 million job seekers in 2025 reported a gap of less than 1 month, showing high turnover or short-term disruptions.
No-Gap CVs Are Disappearing
The share of candidates with uninterrupted work history dropped by 10 percentage points—from 61% in 2020–2021 to 51% in 2025.
Reversal of Recovery Trends
After improvements in 2021–2024, 2025 saw a decline in no-gap CVs, with only 51% of job seekers showing no gaps—down from 61% in 2020 and 2021.
Post-COVID Impact Still Visible
Long-term gaps surged between 2020 and 2022 and peaked in 2024, when over 1.28 million CVs showed a 12+ month break.
Implications: Redefining Hiring Norms and Career Narratives
“These findings reflect an undeniable reality of today’s labour market: career gaps are now the norm, not the exception,” said Jasmine Escalera, career expert at LiveCareer UK. “Whether due to layoffs, caregiving, reskilling, or life transitions, most people now have a gap in their CV. It’s time employers adjust their expectations—and job seekers learn to speak confidently about their career breaks.”
For Job Seekers:
The stigma around career breaks is fading—but confidence still matters.
Use gaps to showcase resilience, reinvention, or realignment.
Highlight transferable skills gained during time away—such as freelancing, caregiving, volunteering, or education.
Leverage the growing normalisation of non-linear career paths to reposition your break as a strategic choice, not a setback.
For Employers:
Old hiring filters no longer reflect today’s talent landscape.
With nearly half of job seekers showing employment gaps, requiring an uninterrupted work history risks overlooking capable, motivated candidates.
Employers should evolve toward skills-first hiring – emphasising adaptability, potential, and real-world outcomes over rigid timelines.
Adjusting expectations can help expand access to diverse talent pools who’ve navigated career changes, caregiving, or pandemic-related disruptions.
