📊 9CV9 Research Intelligence · April 2026
The State of Hiring & Recruitment
in the United Kingdom — 2026
A comprehensive analysis of 130+ data points covering vacancies, unemployment, AI adoption, salary trends, skills shortages, and the future of work in the UK labour market.
721K
Job Vacancies (Dec 25–Feb 26)
▼ 9.5% YoY
5.2%
UK Unemployment Rate (Nov 25–Jan 26)
▲ 4-Year High
£42,531
Average UK Salary (Late 2025)
▲ 5.3% Posted Wage Growth
+13%
Net Employment Outlook Q1 2026
▲ First Improvement since Q2 2025
Labour Market Overview
ONS · CIPD · Indeed Hiring Lab · Career Moves Group
36.6M
Total UK workforce jobs estimated in December 2025, an increase of 33,000 (0.1%) from September 2025
ONS Vacancies & Jobs, March 2026
30.3M
Payrolled employees in January 2026, down 11,000 on the month and 134,000 (0.4%) on the year
ONS / Signature Recruitment Market Update 2026
2.6
Unemployed people per vacancy in Nov 2025–Jan 2026, up from 1.9 the same period the prior year
ONS Vacancies & Jobs, March 2026
74K
Total vacancies below pre-pandemic levels (9.3% below Jan–Mar 2020) as of Dec 25–Feb 26
ONS Vacancies & Jobs, March 2026
75.1%
UK employment rate for people aged 16–64 (Oct–Dec 2025), technically up on the quarter
ONS / Metaintro UK Labour Market Analysis, March 2026
1.5%
Expected UK GDP growth for full-year 2025, with a similar ~1.5% expansion anticipated in 2026
Indeed Hiring Lab UK 2026 Report
93.30
BDO Employment Index in February 2026 — its weakest reading in nearly 15 years, signalling extreme caution
Metaintro UK Labour Market, March 2026
19%
UK job postings currently below pre-pandemic levels on Indeed, though demand has been stable recently
Indeed Hiring Lab UK 2026 Jobs & Hiring Trends Report
Sector Vacancies & Hiring Difficulty
CIPD LMO Winter 2025/26 · Fusion People · ONS
Compulsory Education — Hard to Fill Vacancies72%
Care & Social Work — Anticipate Filling Problems62%
Construction — Vacancies Down Year-on-Year▼40.4%
IT & Digital — Firms Planning to Hire (Q1 2025)51%
Retail — Employers NOT Anticipating Vacancy Problems64%
Hospitality — No Anticipated Vacancy Problems55%
47,860
Additional construction workers needed annually 2025–2029 (CITB estimate), or ~239,300 over five years
CITB / Fusion People UK Recruitment Outlook 2026
124K
New engineers needed per year in the UK to meet long-term demand, highlighting severe engineering talent gap
Fusion People UK Recruitment Market Outlook 2026
Skills Shortage & Talent Gap
Learning & Work Institute · Open University · CIPD · Amazon
2.5M
Shortfall of highly-skilled workers in the UK (Learning & Work Institute)
Learning & Work Institute / StandOut CV 2025
£6.6B
Annual cost of UK skills shortage to businesses via recruitment fees, raised salaries & temp hires
Open University / StandOut CV 2025
1 in 7
Digital roles filled — only 1 qualified person available per 7 digital vacancies in the UK
Amazon / StandOut CV 2025
76%
Employers still reporting difficulty filling positions in 2026, down slightly from 80% the prior year
Career Moves Group British Job Market 2026
8.1M
People with low/intermediate skills — oversupply vs. demand for high-skill workers
Learning & Work Institute / StandOut CV 2025
35%
AI sector organisations struggling to fill AI-specific roles, despite surging demand
UK AI Labour Market Survey 2025 (Gardiner & Theobald / DSIT)
AI in Recruitment
EY · CIPD RTPS 2024 · Omni RMS 2026 · StandOut CV
90%
Large UK private sector businesses that have adopted AI into their recruitment process (EY)
Ernst & Young / StandOut CV AI Recruitment Stats UK
31%
UK organisations now using AI or machine learning in hiring — up from 16% in 2022
CIPD Resourcing & Talent Planning Survey 2024
78%
Organisations that increased use of technology in recruitment & onboarding in 2023
CIPD RTPS 2024 / Omni RMS 2026 Study
66%
Organisations using AI in hiring say it improved hiring efficiency, 62% gained better workforce planning data
CIPD RTPS 2024
47%
UK candidates who have used AI tools in their job applications (e.g. CV writing, interview prep)
Omni RMS 2026 Study (n=739 UK candidates)
42%
Candidates who trust human-led recruitment more than AI-assisted processes
Omni RMS 2026 Study / Onrec Report
5.6%
UK job postings mentioning AI or related tools — the highest among peer countries globally
Indeed Hiring Lab UK 2026 Jobs & Hiring Trends Report
54%
UK employers using AI for candidate sourcing & writing job adverts (REC senior HR survey)
REC AI in Recruitment Survey / StandOut CV
83%
Recruiters who say the biggest benefit of AI adoption is increasing speed and efficiency
Institute of Student Employers / StandOut CV AI Recruitment Stats
36%
Gen Z (17–25) most likely to withdraw from a job application if they perceive AI overuse by an employer
Omni RMS 2026 Study / Onrec
🔍 AI Trust Gap: While 31% of organisations now use AI in hiring (up from 16% in 2022), 42% of candidates still trust humans more. Key confidence drivers: human oversight (33%), clear explanations of AI use (26%), and data transparency (17%). Only <1% of hiring managers rely on AI for the final hiring decision. Meanwhile, 48% of UK SMEs have no plans to implement AI in their recruitment process at all.
Salary, Wages & Compensation
ONS · Indeed Hiring Lab · CIPD · Glen Callum Associates
£42,531
Average UK salary in late 2025; economic forecasters expect wage growth to moderate through 2026
Glen Callum Associates / UK Recruitment 2026
5.3%
Annual posted wage growth (Oct 2025, single-month measure) — lowest since March 2022 but still robust
Indeed Wage Tracker / Hiring Lab UK 2026 Report
3.8%
Regular earnings growth — a 5-year low, reflecting cooling labour market as employer costs rise
Metaintro UK Labour Market Analysis, March 2026
3%
Median expected basic pay increase planned by UK employers for 2026 (private and voluntary sectors)
CIPD Labour Market Outlook / Signature Recruitment 2025
4.1%
Planned rise in the main National Living Wage rate from April 2026 (larger rises for younger workers)
Indeed Hiring Lab UK 2026 / CIPD LMO Winter 2025/26
7.2%
UK gender pay gap in 2026, narrowing; strongest progress in education/public sector, widest in tech/finance
InedjJobs Salaries UK 2026 / ONS
£50K
Average annual salary in London in 2026 — highest in the UK, followed by the South East and Scotland
InedjJobs Salaries in the UK 2026
15%
Employer National Insurance contribution rate from April 2025 — up from 13.8% — significantly raising hiring costs
HM Treasury / Metaintro UK Labour Market 2026
Hiring Costs, Timelines & Processes
CIPD · StandOut CV · HireVue · Glen Callum Associates
£6,125
Average cost-per-hire in the UK (CIPD), factoring internal costs, job adverts, and agency fees
£19,000
Average total cost to fill a management role in the UK, nearly 3x the average cost-per-hire
£30,614
Average cost per employee turnover (Oxford Economics/Unum) — underscoring retention's financial impact
42 days
Average time to fill a vacancy in the UK (HireVue) — from opening to candidate acceptance
~8 weeks
Average time to hire according to Totaljobs 2025 — longer for specialist or senior roles
4.9 wks
Average time from candidate application to job offer acceptance (StandOut CV survey)
17–46s
Time recruiters spend on initial CV reviews — making first impressions more critical than ever
118
Average number of applications a UK vacancy receives (Builtin), creating significant screening burdens
Remote & Flexible Working
ONS · CIPD · StandOut CV · UK Parliament Research
40%
UK workers spending at least part of their week working remotely in 2025 (hybrid + full remote)
ONS / StandOut CV Remote Working Stats UK 2025
27%
UK workers in a hybrid arrangement in October 2025, with a further 13% fully remote (ONS)
UK Parliament Research / ONS, November 2025
72%
Candidates who would consider leaving a job if it didn't support flexible working (Totaljobs, 2025)
Totaljobs Hiring Trends Update 2025/2026
74%
UK organisations that currently support hybrid work models as of 2025
IT Desk UK Remote & Hybrid Work Statistics 2025
58%
Workers who say they would refuse to comply with a return-to-office (RTO) mandate
StandOut CV Remote Working Statistics UK 2025
1.8 days
Average remote days per week for UK hybrid workers — higher than the global average of 1.3 days
2025 Global Survey of Working Arrangements / UK Parliament Research
📍 Remote Work Inequality: Only 29% of those earning under £20,000 can work remotely, vs. 80% of those earning over £50,000. People with degrees are ~10x more likely to work hybrid than those without a degree. IT & Communications workers have the highest remote rate at 80%+ working remotely in 2025.
Candidate Behaviour & Expectations
Omni RMS · Totaljobs · CIPD · StandOut CV · SparkHire
49%
Candidates citing salary & benefits as the #1 factor when seeking a new role (Omni RMS 2026)
Omni RMS 2026 / Onrec
41%
Candidates citing flexible working as a key factor when searching for new roles — up from 30% in 2023
Omni RMS 2026 Modern Candidate Report
49%
Candidates deterred by long application processes — their single biggest frustration
Omni RMS 2026 Study (n=739 UK candidates)
46%
Candidates deterred by poor communication during the recruitment process
Omni RMS 2026 Study / UK Jobseekers Use AI but Trust Humans
73%
Job applicants who are NOT qualified for the jobs they apply for (SparkHire survey)
SparkHire / StandOut CV Recruitment Stats UK
52%
Candidates who have to wait 3 months or more to receive a response to a job application
StandOut CV Recruitment Stats UK
34%
Candidates who have already encountered AI being used by an employer during a hiring process
Omni RMS 2026 Study / IT Brief
2–3
Interview stages that have become the established norm across most UK sectors in 2026
Glen Callum Associates / UK Recruitment 2026
Employment Rights Act & Employer Challenges
CIPD LMO Winter 2025/26 · REC · KPMG
37%
Employers planning to reduce recruitment of permanent staff due to Employment Rights Act (ERA) reforms
CIPD Labour Market Outlook Winter 2025/26 (n=2,082)
74%
Employers who believe the ERA will increase their employment costs; 17% expect costs to rise "to a large extent"
CIPD / CIPD Press Release Feb 2026
55%
Employers who expect workplace conflict to increase due to at least one key ERA legislative change
CIPD LMO Winter 2025/26
+7
Net employment balance (Q4 2025) — lowest level on record outside of the pandemic period
CIPD LMO Winter 2025/26
72%
Employers who believe the National Living Wage rise from April 2026 will increase their employment costs
CIPD LMO Winter 2025/26
57%
Private sector employers planning to recruit in the next 3 months (Summer 2025) — down from 65% in Autumn 2024
CIPD Labour Market Outlook Summer 2025
Skills-Based Hiring & Recruitment Technology
ABL Recruitment · CIPD · Glassdoor · REC · SSR
85%
UK employers already using skills-based hiring methods, with 77% incorporating skills assessments
ABL Recruitment UK Recruitment Trends 2026
70%
Enterprise-size UK businesses using ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software to screen CVs
SSR Study / StandOut CV Recruitment Stats UK
91%
UK employers using some form of social media to attract talent (Glassdoor)
Glassdoor / StandOut CV 2025
59%
UK businesses that hire recruitment agencies to help secure good staff (CIPD)
CIPD / StandOut CV Recruitment Stats UK
69%
UK employers incorporating video interviews into their recruitment process in 2024
StandOut CV Recruitment Stats UK 2025
43%
Companies using some form of AI for automated interviews (filmed responses without human present) (Adecco)
Adecco / StandOut CV AI Recruitment Stats UK
UK Recruitment Market Size & Industry
Mintel · REC · RISR · ONS
£141B
Total value of the UK recruitment market (Mintel)
Mintel / StandOut CV 2025
£43B
Value added to the British economy every year by the recruitment sector (REC)
REC / StandOut CV 2025
30,035
Recruitment agencies currently operating in the UK (RISR)
RISR / StandOut CV 2025
Regional Labour Market Snapshot
ONS · Signature Recruitment Market Update 2026
78.8%
South East — highest employment rate in the UK (Oct–Dec 2025)
ONS / Signature Recruitment Market Update 2026
7.6%
London — highest regional unemployment rate in the UK (Oct–Dec 2025)
ONS / Signature Recruitment Market Update 2026
69%
North East — lowest employment rate across all UK regions (Oct–Dec 2025)
ONS / Signature Recruitment Market Update 2026
2.2%
Northern Ireland — lowest unemployment rate in the UK; payrolled employees also rose +1.2% YoY
ONS / Signature Recruitment Market Update 2026
26.5%
Northern Ireland — highest economic inactivity rate in the UK
ONS / Signature Recruitment Market Update 2026
-30%
Decrease in entrants to the UK civil service from March 2024 to March 2025 — the largest-ever recorded fall
CIPD LMO Winter 2025/26