KPMG & REC Report on Jobs April 2026
The headline figures evidence:
- Marginal fall in permanent placements and slower drop in temp billings
- Demand for staff falls at softest pace in ten months ...
- ... but rates of pay growth ease amid steeper upturn in staff availability
Businesses will adapt and change; they always do. But it seems inevitable that 2026 will remain tough, and we'll likely see rising employment.
No matter how positive a spin the commentators try to put on the figures every month, the business community is not full of owners nodding along, agreeing that things are looking brighter.
I'm interested, and I ask decision-makers how it's going. Then they tell me about the other similar conversations they have had.
I can share that, in private, small business owners believe that the past two years have been worse than COVID, with no obvious end in sight.
And they're exhausted.
Contact us now for a free, no-obligation chat. Contact Clare here.
Clare Wight is the founder and Managing Director of Clarity Appointments, an independent recruitment specialist. She served as a Regional Director for The Employment Agents Movement, supporting other independent recruiters.
She remains an active member of Recconnect (formerly Members Only), a recruitment leadership network promoting high ethical standards, collaboration, diversity, equity and inclusion.
She believes business owners are more fulfilled and higher-performing when they provide emotional and professional business support to other business owners, even those they deem to be competitors. She does this actively, whilst challenging and updating her skills and knowledge of the recruitment sector, enabling her to offer the best advice to firms looking to make their next hire.
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