The picture is turning. After a long stretch of caution, permanent placements have finally stabilised, ending a decline that had run for 45 months REC / KPMG Report on Jobs (S&P Global). That matters for lenders, because a steadier permanent market is usually the first sign that employers feel confident enough to commit to long-term hires again rather than leaning on short-term cover.
The wider labour market has been described as 'low hire, low fire', with weaker recruitment but only slight increases in redundancies, and vacancies sitting below pre-pandemic levels Low Pay Commission Report 2025, GOV.UK. Against that backdrop, any return to permanent commitment stands out. There are early signs of movement, too: the largest volume increase in vacancies recently came in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, up by 5,000 ONS – Vacancies and jobs in the UK: November 2025.
So the question for lenders isn't whether hiring is happening, it's where to focus while the market is still finding its feet.
Demand is uneven, and that's the key dynamic. Even in a cautious year, businesses kept spending on specialist skills, with clear hotspots in AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly (tech recruitment outlook 2026). For lenders, those are exactly the capabilities behind fraud prevention, risk modelling and digital banking, so the competition for that talent is real.
Cyber security is a good example. The UK cyber workforce sits at around 143,000 people, with growth accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 - GOV.UK. Growing, but not fast enough to meet demand from regulated, security-conscious employers like banks and building societies.
The other dynamic is the squeeze at entry level. UK entry-level job postings have dropped 30% since ChatGPT launched, with graduates facing the toughest market since 2018 techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?. Lenders reopening permanent hiring need to weigh that carefully: pulling back from junior roles now risks a thin pipeline of experienced people in a few years.
Start by matching your effort to the market. Some skills are genuinely scarce, so treat them differently. When demand is concentrated in AI, data and cyber, moving quickly on the right person matters more than casting a wide net. A slow process loses scarce candidates to faster employers.
Second, don't neglect the junior pipeline. With entry-level hiring under pressure across sectors, apprenticeships are one route worth watching: in AI hiring, apprenticeships have risen from 3% of hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. Building talent, not just buying it, protects you when the market tightens again.
Third, be precise about the role. In a stabilising market where permanent placements are only just recovering REC / KPMG Report on Jobs (S&P Global), a clear brief on skills, compliance needs and progression helps you shortlist faster and hold onto good people once they're in.
When confidence returns and you're competing for scarce, specialist people, speed and precision decide who you hire. We search a database of 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist in seconds and handle recruitment end to end, from matching to booking interviews, so you can move on the right person while they're still available. 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. Ready to reopen your permanent hiring? Start today.
