With planning season in full swing, many organisations are reviewing their 2026 transformation portfolios, budgets and resources. Given the challenging UK economy, aligning investment, capability and priorities matters more than ever.
At a glance
- Unemployment rate: 4.8%, up 0.2 percentage points on the quarter (Jun–Aug 25) — 1.74 million people
- UK employment rate: 75.1%, down 0.2 percentage points (Jun–Aug 25)
- Economic inactivity: largely unchanged at 21.0%
- Earnings growth: 4.7% excluding bonuses (quarter ending Aug 25)
- Inflation (CPI): 3.8% (Aug 2025), against the Bank of England’s 2% target
- Bank Rate: 4%
- Job vacancies: 717,000 (Jul–Sep 2025), down 1.3% on the quarter
- New job postings: 742,967 in Sep 25, up 11.3% on August
Data source: Office for National Statistics, Recruitment & Employment Confederation, Change Specialists Ltd.
About these figures. These are the statistics as the Office for National Statistics published them at the time of this report. ONS routinely revises Labour Force Survey estimates afterwards, so today’s figures for the same period may differ slightly. For the latest official figures, see our UK labour market tracker, which is refreshed daily direct from ONS and the Bank of England.
What it means
Hiring is warming up. New job postings rose 11.3% in September as the market picked up after the summer.
The hiring that is happening is targeted. Demand is concentrated in digital, infrastructure and transformation roles, suggesting a shift towards skills-focused workforce strategies rather than broad headcount growth.
Competition for critical skills continues. Organisations are competing for scarce capability while managing operational and financial pressure. Strategic alignment of people and operational plans will be essential to navigate continuing economic uncertainty.
Written by Julian Brown, Practice Director, Change Specialists.