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The latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs, published in September, revealed that permanent staff appointments increased in August for the first time since late 2022. Temporary billings also rose for the fifth consecutive month.
It is an encouraging change after several years in which economic uncertainty and rising employment costs have made many businesses understandably cautious about recruitment.
But does a greater supply of candidates mean that finding the right people has become easier?
Not necessarily.
More people are looking for work
The current jobs market presents something of a contradiction.
According to the latest Office for National Statistics figures, there were an estimated 707,000 vacancies across the UK between May and July 2026, 2.7% fewer than during the same period last year. There were also 2.5 unemployed people for every vacancy.
At the same time, the latest KPMG and REC data shows that the availability of both permanent and temporary candidates continues to increase.
On the face of it, this should make recruitment easier for employers. More candidates competing for fewer vacancies ought to mean a much wider choice.
In practice, however, candidate availability and skills availability are not the same thing.
The skills shortage hasn't disappeared
This is particularly apparent when recruiting for technical, engineering and specialist roles.
Employers may receive more applications than they did a few years ago, but finding candidates with the particular combination of qualifications, industry knowledge and practical experience required for a role can remain challenging.
This is also reflected in the wider picture.
Skills England's 2026 Annual Skills Report identifies skills shortages as one of the key challenges facing the UK economy, with demand for a number of key occupations expected to grow considerably over the coming decade.
For employers, this means that a softer recruitment market should not automatically be interpreted as the end of the skills shortage.
There may be more people actively looking for work, but the people with the skills you need can still be in short supply.
Good candidates still have choices
There is another potential trap for employers.
When applications increase, it can be tempting to extend the recruitment process: to see a few more CVs, add another interview stage or simply wait to see who else might become available.
For difficult-to-fill positions, this can be counterproductive.
Experienced candidates with skills that remain in demand are unlikely to be experiencing the jobs market in quite the same way as the headline figures suggest. The strongest candidates may still be considering several opportunities and can disappear from the market quickly.
A clear recruitment process, realistic requirements, competitive remuneration and timely feedback therefore remain just as important.
Temporary recruitment is also telling us something
One particularly interesting feature of the latest figures is the continued growth in temporary recruitment.
Temporary billings increased for the fifth consecutive month in August.
That may reflect businesses wanting greater flexibility while there is still uncertainty around the wider economy, but temporary and contract recruitment can also provide access to specialist skills for a particular project, period of increased workload or short-term requirement without immediately increasing permanent headcount.
For industries where projects, maintenance programmes and changing workloads create fluctuating resource requirements, that flexibility can be particularly valuable.
A changing market, rather than an easy one
There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the latest recruitment figures.
An increase in permanent appointments after such a long period of decline is significant, and continued growth in temporary recruitment suggests employers are becoming more willing to bring people into their businesses.
But the recruitment market isn't simply switching from being candidate-short to candidate-rich.
What we are seeing is a more complex market in which overall candidate availability has increased while particular skills and experience remain difficult to find.
For employers, the challenge is therefore not necessarily finding more candidates.
It is finding the right candidates.
At List Recruitment, we have recruited technical, engineering, commercial and support personnel for businesses across the Humber region and beyond for many years. Our experience is that understanding the market, knowing where particular skills can be found and recognising a strong candidate when they become available remain every bit as important as the number of applications received.
If you're considering recruiting permanent, temporary or contract personnel and would like to discuss current candidate availability in your sector, please get in touch with the List Recruitment team.
Photo by Fabian Quintero on Unsplash
