Is Recruitment In The UK Picking Up Again?

The latest Hiring Trends report from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies, published with Bullhorn, shows some momentum in the recruitment market. Between June and July, the number of new vacancies came up by 10% for contract roles and 8% for permanent positions. Placements rose by 2% for both.

Samantha Hurley, UK Managing Director at APSCo commented, “While it’s common to see a slight increase in recruitment between June and July, ahead of August’s seasonal blip, this uptick is promising given the tough year that the staffing market has faced so far. There remains a slightly higher demand for contract resources over permanent, which is expected when the economic climate is still uncertain. However, the gap is decreasing, giving us and our members some promising indicators that the tide is starting to turn.”

This monthly rise followed months of weaker activity, so while the numbers may reflect the usual seasonal pattern before summer, the figures offer a boost to agencies that have been working through lower hiring levels. According to APSCo, CV submissions also went up, with a 13% increase for contract roles and 8% for permanent ones.

Andy Ingham, SVP Sales, EMEA & APAC at Bullhorn, added, “July exhibited strong momentum, with most metrics on the up month over month. Only sales are down from June, but are still showing positive trends compared to July ’24. Pipeline continues to grow from the promising foundation last month, paired with a surge of delivery activity in the form of a 13% and 8% monthly boost in CV sends for contract and perm respectively after a slight lull in June. Placements had a modest lift, both up around 2.5%, indicating good client commitment and high throughput on key vacancies, despite June’s delivery slump.”

This short term gain follows a difficult few months because on the other hand, the UK Report on Jobs from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation shows that hiring had really slowed in May. The Permanent Placements Index went down from 44.7 in April to 44.2 in May. The Temporary Billings Index stayed below 50 but came up slightly, going from 46.3 to 47.1. When these numbers are below 50, it means fewer roles are being filled compared to the month before.

 

 

What Are Recruitment Agencies Doing?

 

According to Bullhorn’s GRID 2025 Industry Trends Report, many agencies are trying to stay ahead by putting energy into getting new clients, cutting unnecessary spending, and improving recruiter performance with technology. Out of the 1,500 professionals surveyed, 77% said they were trying to increase market share. The most common strategies were boosting recruiter productivity through tech tools and shifting into more profitable service areas.

Although 2024 saw another drop in revenue for many firms, 40% of agencies still saw gains. Those that came out on top were quicker to work with what they had and improve internal processes. Recruiter productivity and better client relationships helped keep them steady.

One way agencies are getting quicker is by reducing how long it takes to place candidates in roles. Faster hiring helps both agencies and applicants. The GRID 2024 Talent Trends Report shows that 59% of agencies kept time to place under 20 days, with 27% doing it in fewer than 10 days. This was far more common among agencies that saw revenue come up during the year.

 

Is Automation Helping Or Getting In The Way?

 

Automation is already proving useful for many recruiters, especially when it comes to placing candidates faster and saving time on routine tasks. Agencies that have automated parts of their hiring process were almost twice as likely to report revenue growth. According to Bullhorn, those using automation to screen and match candidates were more likely to place people within 20 days, sometimes even 90% more likely to hit that target.

Tasks like matching CVs to jobs and screening applicants are at the top of agencies’ automation wishlists. Recruiters now spend an average of 14.6 hours per week searching for candidates, so saving even a few hours makes a difference.

But automation has not been adopted evenly. Only 18% of agencies said they were in advanced stages of digital transformation, down from 21% the year before. One reason is spending cuts. Many agencies have had to cut back on tech budgets to manage expenses.