Midlands Hiring in June

If it’s felt harder than usual to get permanent hires over the line this year, you’re not imagining it and you’re not alone. The latest labour market data for the Midlands shows permanent hiring is still contracting. But there’s a genuinely encouraging detail buried in the numbers: the slowdown is losing steam, and for the first time in months, the trend line is bending in the right direction.

Here’s what’s actually going on, and what it means for your hiring plans over the next few months.

The headline: still cooling, but not as fast

Permanent placements across the Midlands fell again in June – the fifth month in a row. Rising hiring costs and general business uncertainty remain the top reasons employers cite for holding back. But the pace of that decline was the slowest it’s been in four months, easing noticeably from the sharper drops seen in April and May.

Read that as: the market hasn’t turned a corner yet, but it may be getting ready to.

Meanwhile, temporary and contract hiring keeps doing the heavy lifting. Billings from short-term staff placements grew for an eleventh straight month, as employers lean on flexible staffing to meet demand without committing to permanent headcount just yet.

The talent pool is growing, just more slowly here than elsewhere

One piece of good news for anyone with open roles: candidate availability keeps rising, for both permanent and temporary positions. That’s more people actively looking, which generally means shorter searches and more choice.

The catch: this growth is happening more slowly in the Midlands than in London, the North, or the South of England. So while things are easier than they were a year ago, don’t expect the same speed-to-hire your colleagues in other regions might be seeing.

Where you’ll still feel the squeeze

Some roles remain genuinely hard to fill, regardless of the broader cooling. On the permanent side, that includes accounting and finance roles (Accountants, Finance Business Partners, Tax specialists), skilled trades like HGV Mechanics and Welders, Engineers, Legal, and a cluster of tech roles – Software Developers, Data Scientists, and AI/ML Developers. On the temporary side, it’s a similar story: Drivers, Forklift Operators, HGV Mechanics, Engineers, and the same in-demand tech skill sets.

If any of these show up on your open requisitions, build in extra lead time and lean harder into retention for the people you already have in these categories.

Pay is rising, but nobody’s overpaying

Starting salaries for permanent hires ticked up in June at their fastest pace in four months but “fastest in four months” is still only a modest increase, and it remains below both the UK average and the region’s long-term norm. Temp pay is telling a similar story: solid, steady growth, but nothing dramatic.

You likely don’t need to blow the budget to stay competitive right now, but you also can’t stand still, especially for those short-supply skill sets.

What this means for your hiring plans

• Permanent searches will probably keep taking longer than you’d like near-term but the trend is easing, not worsening.
• Temp and contract routes remain the fastest way to plug urgent gaps.
• Budget for steady, modest pay growth rather than sharp jumps.
• Protect your people in high-demand categories – replacing them will cost more time and money than keeping them.
• Give Midlands searches a bit more runway than you would elsewhere in the UK.

What we are seeing at Impact Recruitment

On the ground, we’re seeing this play out in real hiring activity. Businesses across Northamptonshire are recruiting steadily – some for genuine expansion, others to replace leavers. The local market remains buoyant.

What varies is the level of commitment. Some clients are hiring straight permanent. Others want temporary cover to get a project through without adding headcount. And a fair number aren’t confident enough yet to commit to a permanent hire, even where the workload clearly justifies one. All three are reasonable positions in this market and whichever one you’re in, it’s worth talking through.

Want the full picture?

This is just the highlights. Our complete Midlands Market Report digs into the full monthly data trends, region-by-region benchmarking, and a detailed skills-in-demand breakdown you can use to brief your team or plan next quarter’s headcount.

Download the full UK Jobs Report →

Or if you’d rather just talk it through: 01604 239555 | info@impactrecruitment.co.uk

Source: S&P Global UK Jobs PMI®, July 2026. Figures and commentary summarised and interpreted by Impact Recruitment.