More than a third of UK employers plan to increase permanent hiring before the end of 2026, with technology and IT roles leading recruitment intentions despite continuing economic uncertainty.
A survey of 500 hiring managers by Robert Half found that 34% expect to expand permanent headcount during the remainder of the year.
Flexible workforce models remain prominent alongside permanent recruitment. A quarter of respondents intend to increase contract hiring, while 24% plan to expand project-based recruitment to add capacity around specific business priorities.
Technology and IT recorded the strongest permanent hiring intentions, with 47% of employers planning an increase. Some 29% expect to recruit more contractors in the field, while 30% plan to add project-based technology workers.
Finance and accounting followed, with 38% planning to increase permanent recruitment, 29% expecting higher contract hiring, and 26% preparing to expand project-based teams.
Marketing and creative functions recorded permanent hiring intentions of 30%, alongside 22% for contractors and 24% for project-based workers.
Administrative and office support stood at 29%, 25%, and 22% respectively, while legal, risk, and compliance employers reported expansion intentions of 24% for permanent staff, 20% for contractors, and 19% for project-based hiring.
Matt Weston, senior managing director for the UK and Ireland at Robert Half, said: “Organisations are continuing to hire where skills are scarce, and talent can directly support strategic business objectives. Employers are taking a targeted approach to hiring, prioritising specialist talent and investing in training and workforce development.”
The latest figures extend a pattern visible earlier in the year. Robert Half data published in June showed stronger hiring intentions across several specialist finance roles, including positions linked to financial control, systems, and business transformation.
Rather than pointing to broad-based headcount expansion, the new survey indicates that recruitment is being concentrated around functions connected with technology, cybersecurity, accounting, compliance, communications, and customer support.
That selectivity reflects the balance employers are trying to strike between cost control and capability. Company-wide hiring freezes can restrict access to skills needed for technology projects, regulatory work, or financial transformation, while unrestricted recruitment adds fixed cost when demand remains uncertain.
Combining permanent staff with contractors and project specialists offers greater flexibility. Permanent employees retain institutional knowledge and support long-term capability, while temporary specialists can add expertise around defined programmes without creating the same ongoing workforce commitment.
Scarcity remains a constraint even where employers are willing to recruit. Some 26% of respondents expect competition for highly skilled talent to intensify further.
Internal development is therefore becoming a larger part of workforce planning. Six in ten small and midsized enterprises and 64% of large organisations identified training, upskilling, and reskilling as important responses to current workforce challenges.
A further 36% plan to redesign roles and working practices, indicating that employers are reassessing how work is organised as well as how many people they employ.
Artificial intelligence is contributing to that redesign. Automation can accelerate or remove individual tasks, but the survey suggests employers continue to value professionals who combine technical capability with judgement, communication, and critical thinking.
Weston said: “As organisations continue to grapple with skills shortages and an ageing workforce, they are investing in employee development and technology while competing for top talent. Employers increasingly need professionals who can use AI effectively while bringing the critical thinking, judgement and communication skills that technology alone cannot provide.”
As generative tools are embedded into finance, technology, marketing, and administrative workflows, individual roles are likely to contain a different mix of tasks. Routine work can be automated, while employees take greater responsibility for validating outputs, handling exceptions, and making decisions that require context or accountability.
Training budgets therefore serve both recruitment and retention objectives. Developing existing employees can reduce dependence on scarce external talent while helping organisations adapt as technology changes the content of established roles.
Ageing workforces add another layer to that challenge, particularly in specialist functions where expertise takes years to develop. Succession planning and knowledge transfer become more important when experienced employees leave faster than replacements can be recruited or trained.
The survey suggests employers remain cautious about where they add cost without retreating from recruitment altogether. Technology and finance stand out because both are being asked to support wider transformation while managing higher expectations around security, regulation, data, and productivity.
With 34% of employers still planning permanent expansion and substantial minorities increasing contract and project hiring, competition for specialist skills is likely to remain intense through the second half of 2026 even if overall recruitment remains selective.
You must be logged in to post a comment.