Q1 2026 has delivered an encouraging start to the year for the businesses in our dataset. Comparing Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, Net Fee Income was up 8.4%, a meaningful improvement on the same quarter last year, when many firms were experiencing their most difficult trading period in recent memory.
At Recruitment Accountants, we’ve analysed performance data from 78 recruitment agencies across the UK, alongside published trading updates from Hays, PageGroup and Robert Walters. We’ve also considered the wider economic and labour market backdrop — including inflation, employment trends and interest rates — to provide context on how firms are navigating the opening quarter of 2026.
The Headlines:
Our Q1 2026 Recruitment Benchmarking Report highlights a positive start to the year, with Net Fee Income up 8.4% year-on-year, improving profitability, and overheads falling below the 20% benchmark for the first time in this dataset. It also reflects a market that is gradually recovering, with firms benefiting from returning client confidence and deferred hiring activity feeding through into performance.
However, conditions remain fragile. Large listed recruiters continue to report UK declines, and geopolitical uncertainty — particularly in the Middle East — has reintroduced inflation risk and paused expectations of further interest rate cuts.
What’s inside the report
- Quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year benchmarking across key financial metrics
- Performance trends against the 60:20:20 operating model
- Breakdown of permanent vs temporary income growth
- Overhead analysis and cost movement
- Comparison with listed recruitment groups
- Practical priorities for business owners through the rest of 2026
We’ve also included details on how the data has been compiled, including how we’ve adjusted for shareholder salaries and categorised overheads to give a fair and useful comparison.
Download your copy
The full Q1 2026 Recruitment Benchmarking Report is now available.
Get the numbers, understand the trends — and see how your business compares.
