{
  "name": "UK ATS CV Scan Statistics 2026",
  "description": "Aggregate statistics from 5,782 CV scans against real UK job descriptions on JobSpace AI. Published to correct the widely repeated but unsourced claim that 75% of CVs are rejected by applicant tracking systems.",
  "url": "https://jobspaceai.com/uk-ats-cv-statistics",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "JobSpace AI",
    "url": "https://jobspaceai.com",
    "legalName": "NRB Consulting Ltd",
    "jurisdiction": "England and Wales"
  },
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "licenseNote": "Free to cite and republish with attribution and a link to https://jobspaceai.com/uk-ats-cv-statistics",
  "temporalCoverage": "2026-03-01/2026-06-11",
  "spatialCoverage": "United Kingdom",
  "datePublished": "2026-06-12",
  "version": "1.0",

  "scoreDistribution": {
    "sampleSize": 5782,
    "unit": "CV scans, each against one specific job description",
    "meanScore": 70,
    "meanScoreNote": "Approximate. Scores cluster on round values, so banded figures are authoritative.",
    "bands": [
      {
        "band": "75-100",
        "label": "Interview-ready",
        "count": 3732,
        "percentage": 64.5,
        "interpretation": "Likely to pass automated screening for the role scanned against"
      },
      {
        "band": "50-74",
        "label": "At risk",
        "count": 1296,
        "percentage": 22.4,
        "interpretation": "Parseable, but missing keywords and section signals recruiters filter on"
      },
      {
        "band": "0-49",
        "label": "Likely filtered out",
        "count": 752,
        "percentage": 13.0,
        "interpretation": "Serious keyword and structure gaps, at real risk of automatic rejection"
      }
    ],
    "bandCountRoundingNote": "Band counts sum to 5,780 rather than 5,782 (a 2-scan rounding difference from banded percentages). Percentages sum to 99.9% for the same reason. Left as measured rather than adjusted to force a total.",
    "belowInterviewThreshold": {
      "count": 2050,
      "percentage": 35.4,
      "threshold": 75,
      "note": "This is the headline finding: roughly 1 in 3, not the 3 in 4 commonly quoted."
    }
  },

  "keywordDepth": {
    "sampleSize": 248,
    "sampleNote": "Subsample of CVs that went through full optimisation. Skews toward CVs that needed work; owner and internal test accounts excluded.",
    "averageKeywordMatchPercent": 47.8,
    "averageMissingKeywordsPerCv": 9.1,
    "averageSkillMatchPercent": 50.1,
    "averageReadabilityScore": 67
  },

  "mostMissedKeywords": [
    { "term": "continuous improvement", "cvsMissing": 8 },
    { "term": "compliance", "cvsMissing": 8 },
    { "term": "customer service", "cvsMissing": 7 },
    { "term": "SLA / service levels", "cvsMissing": 6 },
    { "term": "change management", "cvsMissing": 6 },
    { "term": "stakeholder management", "cvsMissing": 5 },
    { "term": "KPIs", "cvsMissing": 5 },
    { "term": "training", "cvsMissing": 5 },
    { "term": "agile", "cvsMissing": 5 },
    { "term": "market research", "cvsMissing": 5 },
    { "term": "stakeholder engagement", "cvsMissing": 4 },
    { "term": "governance", "cvsMissing": 4 },
    { "term": "documentation", "cvsMissing": 4 },
    { "term": "problem-solving", "cvsMissing": 4 },
    { "term": "active directory", "cvsMissing": 4 },
    { "term": "ticketing system", "cvsMissing": 4 },
    { "term": "procurement", "cvsMissing": 4 }
  ],
  "mostMissedKeywordsInsight": "The keywords costing candidates interviews are process and governance terms, not hard technical skills. Candidates describe what they did; job adverts screen for how they worked.",

  "methodology": {
    "sample": "5,782 scored CV scans on JobSpace AI between 1 March and 11 June 2026, each against a specific job description spanning 2,200+ distinct job titles. Built-in example jobs and internal test scans are excluded.",
    "scoring": "An ATS analysis model scores keyword match, section structure and parseability on a 0-100 scale. Scores cluster on round values, so figures are published in bands rather than implying single-point precision.",
    "keywordDepthSource": "Drawn from the 248 CVs that went through full optimisation, a subsample that skews toward CVs needing work.",
    "knownBias": "People who scan their CV already suspect it needs checking. The true below-threshold rate across all UK job seekers is likely lower than 35%, which widens rather than narrows the gap to the quoted 75%.",
    "limitations": [
      "Self-selected sample, not a random sample of UK job seekers",
      "Scores are model-produced, not observed employer ATS outcomes",
      "Keyword depth statistics come from a 248-CV subsample, not the full 5,782"
    ]
  },

  "contextOnTheSeventyFivePercentClaim": "The claim that 75% of CVs are rejected by ATS has no traceable primary source and is usually attributed to a vendor survey from around 2012 with no published methodology. Separate 2026 recruiter-interview research also found that ATS platforms rarely auto-reject on content. This dataset provides UK scan-level corroboration from a different angle."
}