Latest REC Report on Jobs – The Headlines

The latest KPMG & REC Report on Jobs for the South of England highlights some encouraging trends in the market:

• Temporary and contract hiring has now grown for three consecutive months, as businesses continue to favour flexibility whilst investing in key projects.

• The decline in permanent recruitment continues to ease, with June recording the slowest rate of decline since April 2023, suggesting confidence is gradually returning.

• Candidate availability remains high, giving employers access to a wider pool of talent than we've seen for some time.

• AI/ML Engineers, Software Developers, Data Professionals and Cyber Security professionals continue to feature amongst the skills in short supply, despite the increase in overall candidate availability.

  
  

What the Latest REC Report Tells Us

The latest REC Report on Jobs landed this week and, from my perspective, it reinforces much of what we've been seeing with our own clients and candidates over recent months.

Whilst the market is still cautious, there are definitely signs that confidence is beginning to return.

We're not seeing businesses recruit simply because they can. Instead, they're making carefully considered hiring decisions where they know bringing in the right person will genuinely add value.

One of the findings that particularly stood out to me was the continued growth in contractor and temporary hiring. That's certainly reflected in the conversations we're having with clients. More organisations are exploring flexible recruitment solutions to deliver projects, access specialist skills or create additional capacity while longer-term plans evolve.

What also caught my attention was that AI/ML Engineers, Software Developers, Data Professionals and Cyber Security professionals continue to feature on the South of England's skills shortage list. That's particularly relevant for us at Your Tech Future, as these are exactly the markets we recruit within every day. Despite candidate availability increasing overall, there is still a shortage of high-quality specialists in many niche technology disciplines.

The report also highlights that candidate availability remains strong.

From our perspective, that's creating some fantastic opportunities for employers. There are some incredibly talented people on the market at the moment, including individuals who perhaps wouldn't have been available 12–18 months ago.

Of course, that window won't stay open forever. As confidence continues to return, I'd expect competition for the strongest candidates to increase again.

What I also found encouraging was that, whilst permanent recruitment remains below previous levels, the pace of decline has slowed significantly. That mirrors the conversations we're having every day.

Clients aren't asking us whether they should recruit anymore. Instead, they're asking:

• Which role should we recruit first?

• Should we consider a contractor alongside a permanent hire?

• How do we make sure we secure the right person?

To me, that's a really positive shift.

Businesses are still being thoughtful with recruitment, but they're making decisions with greater confidence than they were six or twelve months ago.

For employers, I genuinely think this presents a real opportunity. Candidate availability remains good, hiring processes are beginning to move again and businesses that plan ahead are likely to be in a strong position over the coming months.

At Your Tech Future, we always enjoy reading reports like this because it's reassuring when the wider market data reflects exactly what we're seeing on the ground with our own clients and candidates.

If you're thinking about recruiting or simply want an honest view of what we're seeing in your particular market, we're always happy to have a conversation.