The market is cautious, and that changes the game for regional lenders. The Low Pay Commission describes the current UK 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. So fewer roles are open, but the ones that matter still need filling.
That doesn't mean demand has vanished. Recent ONS figures show the largest volume increase in vacancies from August to October 2025 was in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, up by 5,000 ONS – Vacancies and jobs in the UK: November 2025. Finance sits close to that professional-services demand, and regional lenders are moving to claim their share of it while larger players hesitate.
The monthly picture matters too. Ongoing tracking from KPMG and the REC gives a running read on how quickly permanent and temporary placements are shifting KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs June 2026. In a slow market, the lenders that read these signals early get the first pick of available talent.
The demand is concentrated at the senior, qualified end. Government analysis of financial services found recruitment was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) level 6 and above roles, rather than the level 3 to 5 band GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. In plain terms, RQF 6+ means degree-level and professional roles: risk, compliance, credit and specialist advisory people who are hard to find and quick to move.
That senior tilt has a cost. Across the economy, entry-level hiring is being squeezed harder than senior hiring. In engineering, for example, entry-level hiring has fallen to -19% while senior hiring sits at -10%, a nine-percentage-point gap GOV.UK - A snapshot of entry-level hiring in the UK. If lenders keep chasing only qualified specialists, the junior pipeline that feeds those senior roles thins out fast.
Early-career hiring is under real strain more widely. Adzuna data cited by techUK shows a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT launched, with graduates facing the toughest market since 2018 techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?. Regional lenders that build a visible early-career route now will have a sharper pitch when the market turns.
Start with the pitch, not the perk. In a low-hire market, the professionals you want are already employed and rarely browsing. Purpose and local presence are your edge: many people prefer an employer where their work is visible in the community, and a clear reason to move often matters more than a longer job spec. Sell the story, then back it with a fast, respectful process.
Speed is the other lever. Demand hotspots for specialist skills stay competitive even when the wider market is subdued, so a drawn-out process quietly loses you the best people to quicker rivals Computer Weekly (tech recruitment outlook 2026). Tighten your stages, brief interviewers early, and make a decision while the person is still interested.
And protect the junior pipeline. Apprenticeships are proving they can fill skilled roles at pace: in AI hiring, apprenticeships rose from 3% of hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. A structured apprenticeship or graduate route gives regional lenders a home-grown answer to the senior shortage rather than a permanent bidding war.
When the roles that matter are senior and scarce, reach and speed decide the outcome. An AI recruitment agent searches 15 million candidates to surface people who fit your brief, then manages recruitment end to end so your team can keep the process moving. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. If you're sharpening your finance hiring pitch this quarter, talk to us today.
