UK Hiring Grows at Fastest Pace in Four Years, REC/KPMG Shows

UK permanent placements and temporary staff billings both posted their strongest growth in four years in September 2026, with both indices at 50.9, according to the REC and KPMG Report on Jobs. The rate of growth picked up slightly from August, marking a second consecutive month of expansion and the strongest rise since 2022.

The report, compiled by S&P Global, draws on questionnaire responses from around 400 UK recruitment and employment consultancies. An index reading above 50 signals growth on the previous month.

What does the September data show?

• Permanent placements index: 50.9, up from August — the second successive month of growth.
• Temporary billings index: 50.9, matching the permanent-side expansion.
• Permanent vacancy index: 48.4, up 1.6 points from August — the softest fall in vacancies since August 2024.
• Temporary vacancy index: 48.9, down marginally from 49.1.
• Overall demand for workers: the seasonally adjusted index rose from 47.0 to 48.5, the weakest rate of decline in just over two years.

Maxine Bligh, interim chief executive at the REC, said: "The permanent jobs market is revving its engine, with a second successive month of growth. The last time we saw a sustained run of growth in permanent placements was between March 2021 and September 2022."

She added that private-sector permanent vacancies rose for the first time in more than two years, and that the upcoming Budget is central to sustaining momentum: "Employers want to hear not just how we deliver stability, but how we go for growth."

What does it mean for jobseekers?

The supply-side data tempers the good news. The total staff availability index fell from 60.6 in August to 57.2 at the end of the third quarter, a lower reading that indicates increased worker supply. Candidate numbers have risen every month for just over three-and-a-half years. Permanent staff availability eased from 60.9 to 57.2, while temporary availability rose from 56.1 to 57.4.

For an individual candidate, that combination — more hiring activity but a steadily growing pool of rivals — means competition per role remains stiff, and in some sectors conditions still favour employers.

Pay pressure is also easing. The permanent salaries index slipped from 54.1 in August to 53.4, and the temporary wages index fell from 53.5 to 52.6. Starting salaries and temp wages are still rising, but at a slower pace — a signal that candidates have less leverage to push for higher offers than a year ago.

How fragile is the recovery?

Jon Holt, group chief executive and UK senior partner at KPMG, cautioned: "This remains a fragile recovery, and in some sectors it could be seen as an employer's market as the number of people looking for roles increases." He pointed to uncertainty around energy prices and higher borrowing costs as headwinds, and said businesses will look to the Budget later this month for greater certainty in tax policy.

The report itself notes that recruitment activity improved gradually over the summer as attention shifts to the Budget, describing "improving resilience" while employers continue to balance hiring against economic uncertainty and cost pressures.

If the trend holds, Bligh said, genuine momentum could build across the labour market, with permanent and temporary hiring moving in the same direction — a shift that jobseekers and the wider economy would both welcome.