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Employment Placement Agencies in the UK Industry Data and Analysis
Employment placement agencies' revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 6.9% over the five years through 2025-26 to £24 billion. 2020-21 was a year to forget for employment agencies, as the COVID-19 pandemic strongly discouraged hiring activity, denting agencies’ revenue. Evidencing this, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the number of UK job vacancies posted reached a historic low of 340,000 over the three months through June 2020. However, increasing hiring activity signalled a return to business for agencies in the two years through 2022-23. A recruitment boom in the wake of the pandemic resulted in record vacancies, signalling a hiring frenzy and driving strong revenue growth for recruitment companies. Following this, though, the job market began to slow down in 2023-24 with hiring demand abating, with this trend worsening in the two years through 2025-26, causing revenue to slip.
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What's included in this industry analysis
IBISWorld's research coverage on the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom includes market sizing, forecasting, data and analysis from 2015-2030. The most recent publication was released September 2025.
About this industry
What's this industry report about?
The Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom operates under the SIC industry code N78.100. Agencies in this industry list employment vacancies, refer applicants to jobs or directly place people in permanent employment. Individuals referred or placed aren't employees of the employment agency. The operations of online placement agencies fall under the industry. Related terms covered in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom include labour productivity, human resources and artificial intelligence.
What's included in this industry?
Products and services covered in Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom include General recruitment , Executive and managerial recruitment and HR strategy and consulting.
What companies are included in this industry?
Companies covered in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom include Hays plc, PageGroup plc and Robert Walters plc.
Performance
What's included in the Performance chapter?
The Performance chapter covers detailed analysis, datasets, detailed current performance, sources of volatility and an outlook with forecasts for the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom.
Questions answered in this chapter include what's driving current industry performance, what influences industry volatility, how do successful businesses overcome volatility, what's driving the industry outlook. This analysis is supported with data and statistics on industry revenues, costs, profits, businesses and employees.
Products & Markets
What's included in the Products and Markets chapter?
The Products and Markets chapter covers detailed products and service segmentation and analysis of major markets for the for the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom.
Questions answered in this chapter include how are the industry's products and services performing, what are innovations in industry products and services, what products or services do successful businesses offer and what's influencing demand from the industry's markets. This includes data and statistics on industry revenues by product and service segmentation and major markets.
Geographic Breakdown
What's included in the Geographic Breakdown chapter?
The Geographic Breakdown chapter covers detailed analysis and datasets on regional performance of the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom.
Questions answered in this chapter include where are industry businesses located and how do businesses use location to their advantage. This includes data and statistics on industry revenues by location.
Competitive Forces
What's included in the Competitive Forces chapter?
The Competitive Forces chapter covers the concentration, barriers to entry and supplier and buyer profiles in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom. This includes data and statistics on industry market share concentration, barriers to entry, substitute products and buyer & supplier power.
Questions answered in this chapter include what impacts the industry's market share concentration, how do successful businesses handle concentration, what challenges do potential industry entrants face, how can potential entrants overcome barriers to entry, what are substitutes for industry services, how do successful businesses compete with substitutes and what power do buyers and suppliers have over the industry and how do successful businesses manage buyer & supplier power.
Companies
What's included in the Companies chapter?
The Companies chapter covers Key Takeaways, Market Share and Companies in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom. This includes data and analysis on companies operating in the industry that hold a market share greater than 5%.
Questions answered in this chapter include what companies have a meaningful market share and how each company is performing.
External Environment
What's included in the External Environment chapter?
The External Environment chapter covers Key Takeaways, External Drivers, Regulation & Policy and Assistance in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom. This includes data and statistics on factors impacting industry revenue such as economic indicators, regulation, policy and assistance programs.
Questions answered in this chapter include what demographic and macroeconomic factors impact the industry, what regulations impact the industry, what assistance is available to this industry.
Financial Benchmarks
What's included in the Financial Benchmarks chapter?
The Financial Benchmarks chapter covers Key Takeaways, Cost Structure, Financial Ratios, Valuation Multiples and Key Ratios in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom. This includes financial data and statistics on industry performance including key cost inputs, profitability, key financial ratios and enterprise value multiples.
Questions answered in this chapter include what trends impact industry costs and how financial ratios have changed overtime.
Industry Data
What's included in the Industry Data chapter?
The Industry Data chapter includes 10 years of historical data with 5 years of forecast data covering statistics like revenue, industry value add, establishments, enterprises, employment and wages in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the market size of the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom in 2026?
The market size of the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom is £24.0bn in 2026.
How many businesses are there in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom in 2025?
There are 17,110 businesses in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom, which has grown at a CAGR of 1.3 % between 2020 and 2025.
How may import tariffs affect the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom?
The Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom is unlikely to be materially impacted by import tariffs with imports accounting for a low share of industry revenue.
How may export tariffs affect the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom?
The Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom is unlikely to be materially impacted by export tariffs with exports accounting for a low share of industry revenue.
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 6.9 % 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 are the biggest companies in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom?
The biggest companies operating in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom are Hays plc, PageGroup plc and Robert Walters plc
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.
Which companies have the highest market share in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom?
The company holding the most market share in the Employment Placement Agencies industry in the United Kingdom is Hays plc.
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.
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