• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Wednesday October 14 2026

South of England hiring cools as permanent placements fall again

Hiring across the South of England softened in September, with permanent staff appointments falling for a third-and-a-half consecutive year and temporary billings growth slowing to a six-month low, according to the latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs: South of England, compiled by S&P Global.

The survey of about 150 recruitment and employment consultancies found that permanent placements declined at a slightly faster pace than in August, although the fall remained modest. Recruiters pointed to subdued business confidence, recruitment freezes and delays to project starts.

The regional decline contrasted with growth in the three other monitored English areas, helping drive a marginal upturn in permanent placements nationally. Temporary billings still expanded in the South of England, but at the slowest rate since the current period of growth began in April.

Vacancy levels weakened further. Permanent vacancies fell solidly, though the pace of decline was the least pronounced in two-and-a-half years. Temporary vacancies dropped at their steepest rate since May, with demand for both permanent and temporary workers falling more sharply in the South of England than across the UK.

Candidate availability continued to climb. The number of permanent jobseekers rose sharply, although the rate of increase eased for a fourth month to its softest since January. Recruiters linked the rise to redundancies, while some noted that candidates were hesitant to move roles amid economic uncertainty. Temp candidate supply also increased, driven by job losses and fewer contract opportunities.

Starting salaries continued to rise, but pay growth eased notably from August’s recent peak and remained below both historical and UK-wide averages. Employers were reportedly willing to pay more for candidates with the right skills, but many were holding salaries down to control costs. Hourly rates for temporary staff also rose, though at the slowest pace in three months.

David Williams, Bristol Office Senior Partner at KPMG UK, said: “September’s results are a reminder that improvement in the South West’s labour market is unlikely to be linear. There were some more encouraging signs over the summer, but permanent hiring has now slipped back and growth in temporary billings has slowed, suggesting businesses are still approaching recruitment cautiously while confidence is fragile and projects are being delayed.”

He added: “There are, however, some encouraging signs beneath the surface, with the decline in permanent vacancies now at its weakest in two-and-a-half years and temporary hiring continuing to grow. That suggests there is still appetite to bring people in where businesses see demand, even if opportunities overall are contracting and more people are competing for roles.”

Maxine Bligh, Interim Chief Executive at the REC, said: “The permanent jobs market is revving its engine nationally, with a second successive month of growth, but the South of England has yet to fully join the recovery. That said, the decline in permanent placements was modest, while temp billings continue to expand across the region.”

She said a Budget that restored business confidence was key to building momentum, adding: “Employers want to hear not just how we deliver stability, but how we go for growth.”

Dan Barfoot, operations manager at Wiltshire- and Bath-based agency CMD Recruitment, and contributor to the report, said: “People are talking about the employment market recovering.

“But what people also forget that Wiltshire for example is mostly made up of SME’s so all the employment changes this year, including National Minimum Wage, had a large impact on some businesses who were already struggling with cashflow.

“Things will plateau now in Q4 in the run-up to Christmas, and whilst this next budget will be more about individuals than businesses, it will be interesting to see how this sets the bar for 2027.

“We have still been busy recruiting, but businesses are weighing up the need to replace should someone leave, and also the true cost of this.”