Job Flow Index
Recruitment Statistics - July 2026
Recruitment Overview
July’s Job Flow Index points to a market where recruiters are having to work smarter with the activity already in front of them. Job adverts softened during the month, but jobs created and placements continued to rise, suggesting agencies were getting more value from the candidates, clients and opportunities already sitting inside their database.
The year-on-year picture adds important context. Compared with July 2025, candidate applications were higher, but job adverts were lower. That suggests agencies are operating in a more candidate-heavy, advert-light market, where the challenge is not simply attracting more people, but converting the right candidates into the right opportunities.
Key takeaways from July:
- Total jobs created increased by 3% month-on-month.
- Total placements increased by 5% month-on-month.
- Job adverts were down 11% compared with July 2025, while total applications were higher.
- Temp and contract remained the main placement driver, accounting for 87% of placements in July.
- Permanent placements improved month-on-month, but remained slightly behind July 2025.
The strongest momentum continued to come from temp and contract hiring, where Construction, Trades & Labour remained the highest-volume sector. Permanent recruitment was more mixed, with placements improving from June but still sitting slightly behind last year.
Overall, July suggests recruiters are not short of candidate activity, but the market remains selective. The agencies seeing momentum are those able to activate their database, identify live demand quickly and turn existing candidate engagement into placements.
Jobs and placements created
The total number of jobs created increased by 3% in July, while total placements increased by 5%.
This month’s movement is worth noting because it came alongside a drop in job adverts. With fewer roles being pushed out through advertising, the increase in jobs created and placements suggests agencies were making better use of the candidates, clients and live opportunities already visible in their database.
Year-on-year, placements were slightly ahead of July 2025, up 2%. However, the growth was driven by temp and contract, while permanent placements remained slightly lower than last year
Permanent
The number of permanent jobs created decreased by 3% in July, but permanent placements increased by 3%.
This suggests permanent recruiters converted more of the opportunities already in play, even as new permanent job flow softened slightly.
Temp & Contract
The number of temp and contract jobs created increased by 7% in July, while temp and contract placements increased by 5%.
Temp and contract continued to be the main engine of placement activity. It was also the stronger year-on-year performer, with temp and contract jobs created up 16% compared with July 2025.
Placements by sector
Professional Services
Permanent placements in Professional Services decreased by 4% in July.
Temp and contract placements increased by 8%, making contract activity the stronger part of the sector’s performance during the month.
Finance & Accountancy
Permanent placements in Finance & Accountancy increased by 4% in July.
Temp and contract placements rose from 27 in June to 44 in July.
Construction, Trades & Labour
Permanent placements in Construction, Trades & Labour increased slightly, rising from 129 in June to 132 in July.
Temp and contract placements increased by 8%, rising from 6,772 to 7,308.
The sector continued to account for the largest share of temp and contract placements, making it one of the clearest contributors to July’s overall placement growth.
Technology
Permanent placements in Technology increased by 17% in July.
Temp and contract placements also increased by 14%, suggesting stronger movement across both permanent and contract technology hiring.
Engineering, Manufacturing, FMCG & Warehousing
Permanent placements in Engineering, Manufacturing, FMCG & Warehousing decreased by 4% in July.
Temp and contract placements increased by 28%, making this one of the strongest sector movements of the month and pointing to continued demand across operational and industrial hiring markets.
Sales & Digital Marketing
Permanent placements in Sales & Digital Marketing increased by 28% in July.
Temp and contract placements decreased from 17 in June to 5 in July, although volumes remain low compared with other sectors.
Job Adverts
This chart shows the number of new job adverts posted each month across all sectors and platforms. Multiple adverts can be posted per job, but this data indicates the volume of active adverts per month.
The number of job adverts posted decreased by 9% in July.
This adds useful context to the wider market picture. Agencies posted fewer adverts during the month, but still increased jobs created and placements, suggesting they were not relying solely on external advertising to generate outcomes.
Compared with July 2025, job adverts were down 11%, while total candidate applications were higher. That points to a more candidate-heavy market, where recruiters need to focus less on generating volume for volume’s sake and more on identifying which candidates are ready to move, which clients have live demand, and where follow-up can create placement opportunities.
Application Source
The source of applications for your agency’s jobs is a good indicator of the strength of your agency’s brand presence and candidate loyalty.
In July, 33% of applications came from existing candidates and 67% came from new candidates.
Applications from existing candidates remained broadly flat month-on-month, while applications from new candidates decreased by 5%.
Applications from re-engaged candidates
88% of applications from re-engaged candidates were generated by Job Alerts in July, while 12% came from Email Campaigns.
Candidate applications from web sources
Applications from web sources were almost evenly split in July, with 50% generated by Job Boards and 50% from agency websites and other sources.
Job Board applications decreased by 6% month-on-month, while website and other-source applications remained broadly flat.
Spec CVs Sent
There were 3% more Spec CVs sent in July than in June.
This suggests recruiters maintained proactive business development activity during the month, even as job adverts and new candidate applications softened. In a market where volume is not guaranteed, consistent BD activity remains an important route to creating new opportunities.
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