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Recrutiment & Employment Confederation

Summary of the latest report

The latest Report on Jobs for May 2026 indicates that the improving momentum seen earlier in the year is now being tempered by the impact of the Gulf conflict and ongoing economic uncertainty. While hiring conditions remain challenging, the market is showing signs of resilience. while there is a decline in vacancies, it has eased to its slowest rate in nearly a year. This suggesting that the contraction in vacancies may be beginning to stabilise.

Employers appear to be adopting a more cautious approach, increasingly turning to temporary workers to fill vacancies amid uncertainty. Candidate availability continued to rise sharply, driven by redundancies and weaker demand for staff, although the rate of increase has softened slightly compared to March.

Pay pressures remained subdued across both permanent and temporary roles, with particularly weak growth in temporary wages. Sector performance was mixed, with Engineering being the only occupation to record growth in permanent demand, while Retail experienced the steepest declines across both permanent and temporary vacancies.

Read the key findings to understand the latest trends in salaries, staff availability and sector demand.

Read the latest press release here

How to Subscribe

By joining the Report on Jobs panel and completing the short 5 min survey each month REC members can receive the report for FREE.

Alternatively, Report on Jobs is available to REC Corporate members for an annual subscription of £450, and to non-members for £750.

To subscribe or to join the panel, please contact S&P Global here 

Join the Report on Jobs panel