Skills for Care’s (SfC) annual ‘State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England’ report has shown a decrease in the number of job vacancies in the sector after last year’s worrying data.

Care England chief executive Martin Green, however, has warned that the report’s “headline figure” is “not the whole story”.

In the 2023/24 dataset, SfC showed that there are now 1.84 million jobs in the sector, 1.705 million of which are filled. The data was collected in March 2024.

This makes for a vacancy rate of 131,000, down 14.6% on the 2022/23 data.

Data shows international recruitment increasing exponentially between 2020/21 and the most recent year, rising from 15,000 to 80,000 last year, and finally 105,000 in the most recent report.

This figure is expected to plummet in next year’s data, however, due to the last government’s stipulations on care workers bringing dependants to the UK.

Elsewhere, the turnover rate dropped from 29.1% to 24.8%.

The number of men working in the female-dominated sector reached a record high, with men accounting for 21% of the workforce. It is the first time that men have represented more than a fifth of the workforce since records began – the proportion had been static at 18% from 2012/13 until 2022/23, when it rose for the first time to 19%.

Skills for Care CEO Oonagh Smyth said: “It’s clear from our data that international recruitment has been vital in helping the social care workforce grow, but we can’t count on this continuing as we’re starting to see less of it – and the global job market is a competitive one. So we need to stem the tide of British care workers who are leaving their jobs and we can only do that by improving the quality of care roles so the sector can be more competitive in local job markets.

“The launch of the Workforce Strategy for adult social care in July was a big step forward. We know what needs to be done, so now all of us with the power to implement the strategy’s recommendations just need to make it happen.

“This includes investing properly in the workforce as part of the journey towards a National Care Service. Improving pay is an important step, but focusing on things like training and the infrastructure to enable proper workforce planning are vital too. Other sectors can respond to improved care worker pay by increasing their own – but it’ll be harder for them to compete with better-paid care roles that are also rewarding, meaningful and come with great opportunities to learn and grow.

“Not only is the social care workforce vital for our society and a meaningful and fulfilling career for so many people, but it will also be central to the success of the new government’s missions to build an NHS fit for the future, kick-start the economy and break down barriers to opportunity. Its importance cannot and must not be overlooked.

“The clock is ticking – we know we’re going to need more than half a million more care roles by 2040, and that’s on top of all the vacancies we still need to fill.”

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “The report’s headline figure of more filled posts is welcome, but it does not tell the whole story. An 8.3% vacancy rate is unsustainable, particularly when compared to the wider economy and even the NHS.

“This is not just a recruitment challenge – it’s a systemic failure to build a workforce that can meet the current and future demands of social care.

“Without immediate intervention, we will continue to see a workforce stretched beyond its limits, which will directly impact the quality of care provided to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

He continued: “We are facing a perfect storm. Domestic recruitment has collapsed, and the government’s immigration policy has choked off the international recruitment pipeline, which has been vital in propping up the sector. We cannot sustain this practice.

“What makes the situation even more frustrating is the clear inequality between the health and social care sectors. While NHS staff are still able to bring their dependents when migrating to the UK, care workers, who are just as essential, are denied this basic right. This unfair treatment further erodes our ability to attract international talent and deepens the crisis.

“Without a meaningful strategy to improve pay and conditions to attract domestic workers, coupled with a pragmatic approach to immigration, we will be unable to meet the ever-growing demand for care. The government must address this before the situation becomes untenable.”

On the news that the social care sector now contributes an annual £68.1 billion to the UK economy, Green went on: “The £68.1 billion contribution is not just a statistic – it’s a testament to the immense value that adult social care brings to the entire country. Every pound invested in social care multiplies, creating benefits not just within the sector, but across multiple industries. If the government fails to recognise this and continues to underfund social care, we risk jeopardising this critical economic contribution. The Treasury should see this as an opportunity; investing in social care is investing in the stability and growth of the UK economy, particularly at a time when every economic lever needs to be pulled.”

Concluding, Green said: “We cannot overstate the urgency of the situation. Adult social care is not a sector that can afford to be pushed to the margins of policy. The government must prioritise the sustainability of the workforce as part of its broader economic and public health agenda. Without this, the consequences will be dire; not just for social care, but for the NHS and the entire economy.

“How many more reports, warnings, and crises will it take for them to act? We are not just asking for support; we are demanding it – because without it, the system will fail, and the repercussions will be catastrophic.”