As the job market tightens in the United Kingdom, new data from leading recruitment platform, JobAdder, reveals that recruiters are grappling with an overwhelming surge in job applications while facing an overall decline in new job openings year-on-year. 

The findings* highlight significant challenges for recruitment agencies and in-house talent acquisition teams.

In the United Kingdom, the average number of job applications per position at recruitment agencies jumped from 12.6 in Q2 2023 to 14.5 in Q4 2023, then soared to 18.3 in Q1 2024 before settling at 16.6 in Q2 2024. 

In both Q1 and Q2 of 2024, the number of applications per job was higher compared to the same periods in 2023, with an increase of 7 applications (or 62%) in Q1 and 4 applications (or 32%) in Q2.This means that candidate supply for recruitment agency jobs has increased by 137 per cent nationally from Q2 2022 to Q2 2024. 

Despite an influx of candidates, job creation has started to trend downward in the United Kingdom. The number of jobs per account fell slightly from 52 in Q2 2023 to 47.7 in Q2 2024. 

Martin Herbst, CEO of JobAdder, stresses that the significant uptick in the number of job applications compared to the limited job openings is having an impact on recruiters. 

“Recruiters in the United Kingdom are no longer struggling to find candidates – they’re inundated with them. The real challenge now is filtering through the high volume of applications to identify the most skilled and qualified candidates. This task has become even more daunting as recruitment teams have shrunk, and the pressure to streamline workflows has intensified.”

Permanent Jobs Off The Table

As the job market starts to slow, permanent jobs are being knocked off the table. Instead, temporary and contract placements have become increasingly dominant within recruitment agencies, reflecting the broader economic uncertainty. 

In the United Kingdom, temporary roles accounted for 42.5 per cent of agency placements in Q2 2024, up from 41 per cent in Q2 2023.

But Herbst emphasised the need for agencies to adapt to these shifts: “As businesses cut back on permanent hires and bring recruitment in-house, agencies risk losing ground. To stay competitive, they should consider diversifying their offerings, and expanding into temp placements can be a strategic move to drive growth and revenue.”

Job Boards VS. Proactive Sourcing

The report also underscores the inefficiencies associated with job board placements, which are rising in popularity and becoming increasingly time-consuming for recruiters. Job applications through job boards and ad channels have risen to 78 per cent in Q2 2024 globally for recruitment agencies, up from 73 per cent in Q2 2023 and 57 per cent in Q2 2022. Conversely, the number of applications coming through proactive channels has fallen and now sits at just 22 per cent in Q2 2024.

In the UK, it takes recruitment agencies 8.9 days longer to place candidates sourced from job boards in a permanent position in Q2 2024. For temp roles, we see that placements made from internal databases or proactive sourcing methods were up to 39 per cent, or 14.4 days, faster than ad channels.

At the time, job boards might seem like a quick fix, but they often flood recruiters with unqualified candidates, leading to wasted time and resources. Proactive sourcing from internal databases allows recruiters to be more strategic, offering a clear advantage in today’s competitive job market.

“Despite the high volume of applications through ad channels, these are generally less efficient in terms of placement speed. The report highlights that it takes significantly longer to place candidates sourced through external job boards compared to those sourced from existing databases. Specifically, in Q2 2024, UK recruiters took an average of 31.7 days to place candidates sourced from ad channels, compared to 22.5 days for candidates sourced from their internal databases.”

“With the rise in using job boards and ad channels, recruitment agencies face significant risks; companies prefer not to use agencies for candidates they can find themselves. As budgets tighten, agencies must demonstrate their value through strategic approaches and strong networks.”

As the recruitment landscape continues to evolve in the UK, the latest data highlights the desperate need for both agencies and in-house teams to adapt to these changes, focusing on more strategic, efficient, and diversified approaches to stay ahead in a challenging market.

*Published in JobAdder’s Q1-Q2 2024 State of Market Report