The software market is selective rather than slow. Businesses took a cautious approach to hiring through 2025, but clear demand hotspots stayed hot for specialist skills including AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security, according to Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook for 2026. That split matters: employers are not hiring everyone, they are hiring the right people for the roles they cannot afford to leave open.
The wider picture supports it. The largest volume increase in vacancies from August to October 2025 came in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, which rose by 5,000, per the ONS Vacancies and jobs bulletin for November 2025. And IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, a group of 193,000 workers, sit among the occupations in critical demand this year, with three of five indicators flagged as critical in the GOV.UK Occupations in demand 2025 data.
So the headline is not a hiring freeze. It is a concentration of demand in the roles that build and secure software, where the pattern of how people work has become part of the offer itself.
AI skills are the clearest pull. Demand for AI skills rose nearly 200% in a year, with London accounting for 80% of AI-related job postings and nearly two-thirds of all technology vacancies in the UK, according to Accenture data reported by The Register. That geographic weight is exactly why hybrid patterns matter: teams that widen their reach beyond one city compete for talent that a strict office rule would rule out.
Security and specialist roles hold firm too. The UK cyber security workforce numbers roughly 143,000 people, with growth accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024, per the GOV.UK Cyber security skills report 2025. Yet 70% of cyber firms still reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy, as noted in the AI Labour Market Survey 2025. When roles are this hard to fill, flexibility on location and pattern becomes a practical lever, not a perk.
At the other end, entry routes have narrowed. The UK tech sector cut graduate jobs by 46% in the past year, with a further 53% drop projected, based on Institute of Student Employers figures via The Register. Adzuna has seen a 30% drop in UK entry-level postings since ChatGPT launched, with graduates facing the toughest market since 2018, per techUK's analysis of entry-level and graduate jobs. One counterweight: apprenticeships have grown from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025, according to the DSIT AI Labour Market Survey 2025.
Start by reading the pattern, not just the job title. A live role that offers two or three office days signals where a team wants collaboration and where it trusts focused solo work. Set that expectation early in the advert so the people you attract already fit how you work. Vague or hidden patterns waste everyone's time.
Then move faster on the roles you cannot fill. With 70% of cyber firms reporting hard-to-fill vacancies per the AI Labour Market Survey 2025, the best specialists are rarely on the market long. A tight, well-scoped brief and a short interview loop keep strong applicants engaged before someone else moves.
Widen your definition of a good hire. Since graduate routes have thinned according to Institute of Student Employers figures, the growth in AI apprenticeships shows teams building skills they cannot buy. Pair that with a hybrid pattern that opens your search beyond London, where the majority of AI postings concentrate per Accenture data, and you compete on reach as well as reputation.
We built Reed.ai to match specialist software talent to the way your team actually works, hybrid pattern included. We search 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist in seconds and manage recruitment end to end, from the first match to a booked interview. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If you have a software role open now, tell us the pattern and the skills, and we will get to work.
