The wider UK labour market has cooled, and logistics leaders are feeling it in how they plan headcount. The picture today is best described as 'low hire, low fire': recruitment has weakened, redundancies have risen only slightly, and vacancies have dropped below pre-pandemic levels the Low Pay Commission's 2025 report. In practice, that means fewer businesses are committing to large permanent intakes, and more are keeping their options open.
That caution shows up sector by sector. Recent figures point to steady, targeted hiring rather than broad expansion, with the largest volume increase in vacancies over August to October 2025 coming in professional, scientific and technical activities, up by 5,000 roles the ONS vacancies bulletin for November 2025. For logistics, where demand swings with peak seasons, retail cycles and supplier schedules, a flexible workforce is fast becoming the sensible default. Temporary teams let operations match labour to real demand, week by week, without over-committing on fixed cost.
The roles that keep a supply chain moving are practical and hands-on: warehouse operatives, pickers and packers, forklift and LGV drivers, transport planners and shift supervisors. Demand for these clusters together in short, intense bursts around peaks, which is exactly why a fixed permanent structure struggles to keep up. The broader hiring mood is cautious, with businesses taking a careful approach while still chasing specific skills where they need them Computer Weekly's recruitment outlook for 2026.
Two dynamics stand out. First, entry-level pipelines are under pressure across the wider economy, with a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings reported since late 2022 techUK's analysis of entry-level and graduate jobs. That squeezes the pool logistics has traditionally drawn on for frontline roles. Second, monthly hiring signals stay soft, and the pace of permanent placements remains subdued the KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs. Together, these push more operations towards temporary teams they can build, redeploy and rebuild as the calendar demands.
Start with the shape of your demand, not the headcount. Map your peaks and troughs across the year, then decide which roles must be permanent and which flex. A stable core of supervisors and planners, wrapped by temporary operatives and drivers who scale up and down, gives you resilience without carrying idle cost through quiet months.
Speed matters more here than almost anywhere. When a peak lands or a shift falls short, you need people who are right-fit and available now, not in three weeks. Write clear role requirements, spell out the certificates and licences you need, and be honest about shift patterns and locations. The softer market means there are capable people looking for work as the Low Pay Commission notes, so a tight, respectful process wins them. Treat temporary workers as part of the team: good onboarding, clear expectations and fair scheduling turn a one-off shift into a reliable pool you can call on again.
Building and rebuilding temporary teams at pace needs reach and speed, and that is where we help. We search a database of 15 million people, rank a shortlist in seconds, and contact matched candidates in under a minute, so you can staff a shift or a season without the wait. 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. When your next peak lands, start hiring today and build the flexible team your operation needs.
