Recruitment Industry Trends 2018/19

Welcome to our Recruitment Industry Trends report for 2018/19, tracking the growth and impact of Britain’s world-leading recruitment sector.

We produce this report for you, our members! We encourage you to copy the charts, tables and stats within for your own use in reports or client presentations.

Despite many firms reporting issues with client confidence because of skills shortages and economic uncertainty — recruitment industry turnover hit £38.9 billion with £33.4 billion generated through temporary/contract placements and £5.5 billion achieved through permanent placements.

Key stats from this year's report 

1. More than 31,140 recruitment enterprises operated across the UK in March 2019, a year-on-year increase of 2%.
2. A total of 119,000 staff were employed by the broader recruitment industry, up 3% on 2017/18
3. Employer satisfaction with their recruitment partners was 82%, the highest level in 2018/19. Similarly, 83% of employers were satisfied with the candidates presented by partner agencies. The highest satisfaction level recorded throughout the year was 83% in April-June 2018.
4. Over one million people were placed into permanent roles in 2018/19 by the recruitment industry (including associated HR services).
5. The REC predicts the recruitment industry to grow by 4.6% in 2019/20, 3.0% in 2020/21 and 5.9% in 2021/22.