Is the UK labour market turning a corner? ManpowerGroup research shows cautious optimism.
Our latest report reveals a cautious optimism about labour market rebound.Hiring confidence has risen across the UK, with mid-sized businesses fuelling the outlook.
Employers across the UK report a clear increase in hiring confidence for Q2 2026, with a Net Employment Outlook of 27% – a 15 percentage points rise on the previous quarter. This marks one of the sharpest quarterly uplifts in five years and indicates that hiring plans have strengthened broadly across the market. This is supported by early signs of business growth, with 47% of employers expanding and 26% moving into new areas that require additional roles.
“We’re seeing cautious optimism in the labour market. Beyond the rise in hiring confidence, there are early signs of recovery coming through in other parts of the economy. Employer sentiment is improving, GDP expectations are firming up, and housing market indicators are stabilising. These are the kinds of movements that typically show up before we see shifts in real hiring activity.”
Michael Stull, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup UK
From a global perspective, the UK’s position has also improved, ranking 23rd out of 42 global markets and 7th out of 19 European markets.
Hiring sentiment across UK regions
Hiring sentiment has strengthened across nearly every UK region, withYorkshire & Humberside (34%) and South West (36%) leading the way.
Hiring intentions by business size
Mid‑sized businesses are setting the pace for hiring in Q2, with the strongest outlooks among organisations with 250-999 employees and 50-249 employees. Gains are also evident for smaller firms (10-49 employees); fewer than 10 employees and mid‑large companies (1,000-4,999 employees). The only group with a negative outlook remains the largest employers – those with 5,000+ employees (−4%).
Hiring intentions by sector
We’re seeing improved outlooks across all sectors, with continued momentum in Information (38%) and Finance & Insurance (38%), followed by Manufacturing (34%) and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (34%).
With confidence rising but ongoing geopolitical uncertainty still in play, there’s real curiosity about where this will take the labour market next. Find out more in the Q2 2026 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey report, featuring detailed insights on employer hiring intentions by industry, region, company size and seniority levels.
