In short
- Permanent placements fell in October 2026 for the first time in four months, and temporary billings fell for the first time since March (KPMG and REC, 9 November).
- Candidate numbers rose sharply, driven by redundancies: competition for each vacancy is up.
- Demand for permanent staff still rose in six of ten sectors, led by IT and computing and by engineering. Retail and hotel and catering fell the most.
- Official figures (ONS, 20 October): unemployment 4.7%, 691,000 vacancies, regular pay up 3.7%. The next ONS release is on 17 November.
On this page
The UK job market in October 2026: what the Report on Jobs shows
The KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs is a monthly survey of around 400 recruitment agencies, compiled by S&P Global. It is often the first signal of where hiring is heading, a week before the official figures. The October survey shows employers turning cautious again in the run-up to the Budget.
| Indicator | October 2026 | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent placements | Down, first fall in 4 months | Fewer offers signed: expect longer processes |
| Temporary billings | Down, first fall since March | Fewer short contracts, except blue collar roles |
| Vacancies | Down, slowest fall in over 2 years | Demand is close to stabilising |
| Candidate availability | Up sharply | More competition for each role |
| Starting salaries | Rising faster, still below the long-run average | Room to negotiate if your skills are in short supply |
Recruiters told the survey that employers delayed or scaled back hiring because of economic uncertainty and rising costs. Jon Holt of KPMG pointed to energy prices, higher borrowing costs and rising interest rates. Maxine Bligh, interim chief executive of the REC, also pointed to the cost and risk of employment, while noting that the fall in vacancies was the slowest in more than two years.
Where the UK job market is still hiring
- Sectors: demand for permanent staff rose in six of the ten sectors tracked. IT and computing led, followed by engineering; the REC also names construction and accounting and finance.
- Sectors falling: retail, and hotel and catering, saw the steepest drops in permanent demand. Retail also had by far the steepest fall in short-term job opportunities.
- Regions: the North of England and London recorded growth in permanent placements. The South of England had the sharpest drop, and the Midlands a solid fall.
- Temporary work: blue collar roles had the strongest rise in demand for temp staff.
The official figures: unemployment at 4.7%
The Office for National Statistics publishes the official UK labour market figures each month. Its latest release (20 October 2026, covering June to August) describes a market that is broadly flat in 2026:
- Unemployment: 4.7%, down 0.1 points on the quarter and on the year.
- Employment rate: 75.3% of people aged 16 to 64.
- Vacancies: 691,000 in July to September, down 21,000 on the quarter. Outside the pandemic, the last time there were this few was in 2014.
- Pay: regular earnings up 3.7% on the year, 3.0% in the private sector and 6.3% in the public sector.
- Smaller firms: the ONS vacancy survey suggests they may not be recruiting because of higher labour costs.
The next ONS release is on Tuesday 17 November 2026. We will update this page with it, and with each new Report on Jobs.
Job hunting in a slower UK job market: what to change
More candidates per vacancy means recruiters screen faster, and many sort applications with software before reading them. The adjustments are small, but they matter more than in a busy market.
- Tailor every CV to the job advert. Use the advert's own words for your main skills, and put your most relevant results in the top third of the first page.
- Lead with figures. ‘Cut stock errors by 30%’ stands out in a pile of 200 CVs; ‘responsible for stock’ does not.
- Apply early. When candidate numbers rise, many adverts close before their deadline. Set alerts and apply in the first few days.
- Look at growing sectors and regions. If your skills transfer to IT, engineering, construction or finance, say so in your personal statement.
- Ask for the salary range. Starting pay is rising faster for scarce skills. The government has also announced that salaries will have to appear in job adverts: see what the new law on salaries in job adverts means.
For the skills section, our guide to skills for a CV lists what employers look for, with examples. If you are open to short-term work over the winter, see who is recruiting in Christmas temp jobs.
Frequently asked questions.
Sources
About the author
Diego Benitez
Founder of Kandiq, more than 100 hires led
Diego Benitez has hired more than a hundred people, in marketing, sport and sales, as a manager at Intersport and then as Head of Growth at Goodvest (2022 to 2026). He ran those hiring processes from start to finish: screening applications, interviews, the hiring decision, then managing the team. He also knows the candidate's side: internships, work-study, student jobs, a permanent contract, starting an agency, then freelancing. He built Kandiq to give candidates what he looked for in an application himself, and what screening software can read. His guides start from the questions candidates ask Google, rely on official public sources (government employment and careers services, employment law) and are updated when the rules change. The examples are fictional; the figures are sourced.
