Job adverts continued to rise in March

Latest figures show that despite the current economic uncertainty, last month saw the number of active job adverts rise above 1.6 million.

This represents a 5.6% increase compared to February 2026 and is a bigger than expected bounce in pre-Easter hiring.

A resilient labour market

The latest Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) Labour Market Tracker also found that no region in the UK experienced a decline in active job postings during March.

In fact, there has been a continual and substantial increase in active job postings since December 2025.

However, while March hiring intentions remained much stronger than expected, the report states that ‘headwinds from the macroeconomic situation are likely to be built if the crisis in the Gulf is not resolved this spring’.

Improvement happening despite challenges

Commenting on the findings, REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said, “Employers were clearly signalling that an upturn in hiring in the spring was likely at the turn of the year.

“Today’s report shows that improvement is happening despite some of the challenges the economy faces right now. How long this can sustain is the key question.

“Resolving the crisis in the Gulf would obviously make a major contribution to sustaining this cyclical upturn – but even without international progress, the government at home has options.

“Backing employers to invest by tackling the cost of employment crisis would be a great start, and reform of the guaranteed hours proposals into something practical and effective would be in the interest of workers and companies alike.”

To find out more about contracting, please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.