The UK recruitment industry grew in 2017/18 despite ongoing Brexit uncertainty, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s annual Recruitment Industry Trends report for 2017/18. The report was compiled with market research company ComRes and covers the 12 months ending in March 2018.

Total industry turnover from permanent and temporary/contract placements, and other HR services, rose by 11% to £35.7 billion. That breaks down to £30.85 billion generated through temporary/contract placement activity, and approximately £4.84 billion through permanent placements.

Recruiters and associated HR services placed more than 1.1 million people into permanent jobs in 2017/18, and were responsible for placing more than 1 million agency workers on any given day.

In the year to March 2018, the number of businesses operating in the UK recruitment industry increased by almost 10% to 30,430, and the industry employed approximately 115,000 people.

Other figures from the 2017/18 report include:

• Almost two thirds of temporary assignments, 64%, were for 12-plus weeks, while 20% were for at least six months. This compares with 61% and 20% respectively in the prior year’s research.
• 85% of contract placements were for 12-plus weeks, up from 80% in the year prior survey, and 45% of contract workers were on assignment for at least six months, a slight increase from 44%.
• The average value of permanent placements from the wider recruitment industry increased 6.4% year over year to £4,238.
• The average annualised turnover of each temporary/contract worker on assignment was £34,976, up 20% on the average in 2016/17.

“It has been an extraordinary year for recruitment and recruiters,” REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said. “Tight labour markets and quickly shifting skills needs have driven the growth of the industry — but only because recruiters have adapted swiftly to changing times. We see this increased value for clients reflected in our monthly survey feedback — recruitment is a key part of the UK’s world-leading professional services sector.”

The report also includes the REC’s forecast for the next three years, which remains positive despite the unknowns in the political landscape. The REC forecasts that the UK’s recruitment industry will grow by 4% in 2018/19, 4.5%in 2019/20 and 5% in 2020/21.

“The path ahead is uncertain — Brexit, immigration reform, tax changes, technology,” Carberry said. “But this report shows that recruiters can look at that uncertainty and see the opportunities. Whatever the coming months and years bring, recruiters will continue to use their skills and knowledge to boost the UK’s labour market and find people their perfect job.”

The REC calculated the report’s marketwide estimates by using data drawn from the survey of members conducted by ComRes, data from the ONS Inter-Departmental Business Register as well as historical data from IHS Markit. ComRes interviewed 179 recruitment businesses online between 17 July and 8 October 2018.