Recruitment Benchmarking Report Q2

The first half of 2026 presents a mixed picture for the recruitment sector. While H1 performance is modestly ahead of the same period in 2025, a disappointing second quarter highlights the fragility of the recovery.

The headline numbers:

Q2 proved significantly more challenging than Q1, with NFI down 2.7% overall.

Permanent recruitment saw the sharpest slowdown, with NFI falling 8.2% from Q1 to Q2, while Temp NFI remained comparatively resilient, declining by just 0.5%.

Wages: 67.0% of NFI in H1 2026, down from 70.0% in H1 2025 — an improvement, though still above H1 2024's 63.0%.

Overheads: 25.4% of NFI in H1 2026, broadly level with H1 2025's 25.0%.

EBITDA: 7.5% of NFI in H1 2026, ahead of H1 2025's 5.0%, though still some way below the recommended 20%

Finance costs: A new disclosure in this report shows finance costs accounted for 2.2% of NFI in Q2 2026.