UK Hiring Posts Further Recovery Signs in September: KPMG/REC

The UK labour market posted further signs of recovery in September, according to the latest KPMG/REC Report on Jobs, the longest-running private survey of UK recruitment conditions.

The survey, produced jointly by professional services firm KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), publishes monthly and ranks among the most closely watched private indicators of British hiring.

What the September release signals

The KPMG/REC index tracks four core metrics: permanent placements, temporary billings, starting salaries, and candidate availability. Each indicator is reported as a diffusion index, where a reading above 50 signals expansion and below 50 indicates contraction.

The September headline — "more signs of recovery" — points to a market in which employers are continuing to convert hiring intent into actual placements, and where pay offers are no longer drifting lower. Both readings shift negotiating power back toward candidates in active job markets.

For jobseekers, the practical signal is straightforward: recruiters polled by KPMG and REC are reporting enough activity to describe conditions as recovering rather than as flat or contracting.

How to read the report against official data

The KPMG/REC survey measures recruiter sentiment and reported volumes, not official vacancy counts. For absolute job numbers, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) remains the primary source through its monthly Vacancy and Workforce Jobs release, drawn from the ONS Vacancy Survey of roughly 1.3 million business and public-sector sites.

Three differences matter when comparing the two:

• Coverage: the ONS captures every employer site; KPMG/REC captures only placements routed through recruitment agencies, which excludes direct hires.
• Speed: KPMG/REC publishes within days of the survey close; ONS vacancy data runs two to three months in arrears.
• Detail: KPMG/REC breaks results down by sector — typically IT, engineering, accountancy and finance, nursing, hospitality and blue-collar roles — and by English region plus the devolved nations; the ONS vacancy release is national and broad-sector.

What to watch in October

The October edition will be the first KPMG/REC reading to fully reflect post-summer hiring decisions and the return of students and graduates to the candidate pool. REC and KPMG analysts typically use the autumn launches to assess whether recovery is broadening across sectors or remaining concentrated in pockets such as professional services and technology.

For workers weighing a job move, the September signal supports two practical steps: refresh CVs and salary expectations now, and approach agencies that have been consistently strong in the sectors where the report shows the most demand. With the next report due in October, candidates and employers alike will be watching for confirmation that the recovery has momentum.