The picture is improving at the top line. The proportion of employers struggling to fill vacancies has declined compared with 2022, according to the AI Labour Market Survey 2025 AI Labour Market Survey 2025 (Gardiner & Theobald), GOV.UK / publishing.service.gov.uk. That's a real shift, and it reflects a wider cooling in the market.
The Low Pay Commission Report 2025 describes the current labour market as 'low hire, low fire', with weaker recruitment but only slight increases in redundancies, and vacancies dropping below pre-pandemic levels Low Pay Commission Report 2025, GOV.UK. In short, fewer roles are open, and the ones that are open are a little easier to fill than they were.
But a softer average hides sharp pressure in the roles that matter most for AI and digital transformation. The same AI Labour Market Survey 2025 notes that 70% of cyber security firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy in the Cyber Security Skills 2024 comparison AI Labour Market Survey 2025 (Gardiner & Theobald), GOV.UK / publishing.service.gov.uk. When you need specialist technical talent, the market still feels tight.
Technical and specialist roles are where the strain sits. The Institution of Engineering and Technology reports that 76% of engineering employers struggle to recruit for key roles, with technical and specialist sustainability skills topping the list Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
Manufacturing shows the cost of those gaps in hard numbers. The Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025 found 55,000 unfilled long-term vacancies in UK manufacturing in 2025, costing the economy £6bn in lost output every year Make UK – Industrial Strategy Skills Commission Report 2025. These are the roles that build and run the systems AI change depends on.
So the pattern is clear. General hiring is easing, but the specialist, high-skill roles behind digital and AI change remain genuinely hard to fill. If you're hiring for those, the headline improvement won't do the work for you.
Start by defining the skill, not the title. AI and transformation work moves quickly, and job titles lag behind what the role actually needs. Write down the three or four capabilities that decide success, then score every applicant against them. This keeps you focused when the technical shortage means you won't find a perfect match.
Move fast, because the strongest technical people are rarely on the market for long. A slow process loses them. Shorten your interview stages, give feedback within days, and make a decision while interest is high.
Widen the search, too. With cyber, engineering and manufacturing skills in short supply, the best hire often comes from an adjacent sector or a slightly different background. Being open to transferable skills turns a shortage into a shortlist.
When specialist roles stay hard to fill, reach matters. We search a database of 15 million candidates to surface people with the exact skills your AI and transformation roles need, and we manage the process end to end, from shortlist to booked interview. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell Reed.ai about your role today and see your shortlist.
