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Employment Placement Agencies in the UK - Market Size, Industry Analysis, Trends and Forecasts (2025-2029)

Fiona Stalker Fiona Stalker London, United Kingdom Last Updated: August 2025 SIC UK-N781

Revenue

£65.4bn

2025-26

£73.7bn

Past 5-Year Growth

Profit

£X.Xbn

Employees

671k

Businesses

102k

Wages

£XX.Xbn

Employment Placement Agencies in the UK industry analysis

Employment placement agencies in Europe’s revenue is anticipated to contract at a compound annual rate of 9% over the five years through 2025 to €65.4 billion. The COVID-19 outbreak tanked business confidence and expansion plans because of economic uncertainty after months of global lockdowns, forcing hiring freezes in a tricky time for employment agencies. 2022 marked a resurgence for agencies, with companies entering a hiring frenzy post-pandemic. The labour market is cooling in 2025 amid greater global uncertainty with US tariffs impacting business confidence. Still, employment across Europe remains high. According to Eurostat data, employment in the EU reached a record peak of 75.8% in 2024.

Trends and Insights

  • There are signs that the labour market is slowing. Falling vacancy rates amid tariffs and other trade shocks are pointing towards a drop in job creation, which could dampen business for employment agencies.
  • Technology is now engrained in the recruitment process. Almost all agencies have online recruitment sites and have incorporated matching technology to speed up the hiring process.
  • Agencies expand by servicing different geographical areas and specialising. Agencies have different geographical businesses to service the employment needs of different areas, specialise in certain sectors and are making more use of online job listings to capture market demand quicker.
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Top Questions Answered in this Report

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What is the market size of the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom in 2025?

The market size of the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom is £65.4bn in 2025.

How many businesses are there in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom in 2025?

There are 102k businesses in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom, which has grown at a CAGR of 8.0 % between 2020 and 2025.

Has the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom grown or declined over the past 5 years?

The market size of the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom has been growing at a CAGR of 10.2 % between 2020 and 2025.

What is the forecast growth of the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom over the next 5 years?

Over the next five years, the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom is expected to grow.

What does the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom include?

General recruitment and Executive and managerial recruitment are part of the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom.

How competitive is the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom?

The level of competition is high and steady in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom.

Everything you need in one report

  • Reliable market estimates from 2015-2030
  • Competitive analysis, industry segmentation, financial benchmarks
  • Powerful SWOT, Porter’s Five Forces and risk management frameworks
  • Online membership platform with PDF, Word, Excel and PPT exports

Table of Contents

External Environment

Highlights

Trends
  • Regulation & Policy
  • Assistance

Key Takeaways

Agencies must follow legislation ensuring jobseekers are treated fairly. Agencies aren’t allowed to charge a fee to a jobseeker for finding them work, withhold pay for agency workers or stop someone from working elsewhere.

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External Drivers

Analysis

What demographic and macroeconomic factors impact the Employment Placement Agencies in the UK industry?

Financial Benchmarks

Highlights

Trends
  • Profit Margin
  • Average Wage
  • Largest Cost

Key Takeaways

Profit fluctuates based on the industry sector and salary of roles. The level and pay of the roles recruiters are hiring for affect profit and the area of specialisation is key.

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Cost Structure

Charts
  • Share of Economy vs. Investment Matrix
  • Industry Cost Structure Benchmarks:
    • Marketing
    • Depreciation
    • Profit
    • Purchases
    • Wages
    • Rent
    • Utilities
    • Other
Analysis

What trends impact cost in the Employment Placement Agencies in the UK industry?


Key Ratios

Data tables
  • IVA/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Imports/Demand (2015-2030)
  • Exports/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Revenue per Employee (2015-2030)
  • Wages/Revenue (2015-2030)
  • Employees per Establishment (2015-2030)
  • Average Wage (2015-2030)

Country Benchmarks

European Leaders & Laggards

Data Tables

Top and bottom five countries listed for each:

  • Revenue Growth (2025)
  • Business Growth (2025)
  • Job Growth (2025)

European Country Performance

Data Tables

Rankings available for 37 countries. Statistics ranked include:

  • IVA/Revenue (2025)
  • Imports/Demand (2025)
  • Exports/Revenue (2025)
  • Revenue per Employee (2025)
  • Wages/Revenue (2025)
  • Employees per Establishment (2025)
  • Average Wage (2025)

Structural Comparison

Data Tables

Trends in 37 countries benchmarked against trends in Europe

  • Concentration
  • Competition
  • Barriers to Entry
  • Buyer Power
  • Supplier Power
  • Volatility
  • Capital Intensity
  • Innovation
  • Life Cycle

Key Statistics

Industry Data

Data Tables

Including values and annual change:

  • Revenue (2015-2030)
  • IVA (2015-2030)
  • Establishments (2015-2030)
  • Enterprises (2015-2030)
  • Employment (2015-2030)
  • Exports (2015-2030)
  • Imports (2015-2030)
  • Wages (2015-2030)

Methodology

Where does IBISWorld source its data?

IBISWorld is a world-leading provider of business information, with reports on 5,000+ industries in Australia, New Zealand, North America, Europe and China. Our expert industry analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build an accurate picture of each industry.

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