Q2 2026 has delivered a sharp reversal following an encouraging start to the year for the businesses in our dataset. Comparing Q1 2026 to Q2 2026, Net Fee Income was down 2.7%, with permanent recruitment income falling 8.2% while temporary and contractor NFI held comparatively steady, down just 0.5%.
At Recruitment Accountants, we’ve analysed performance data from 84 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 navigated the second quarter of 2026.
The Headlines:
Our Q2 2026 Recruitment Benchmarking Report highlights a quarter that undid much of Q1’s momentum, with permanent income falling sharply while temp and contractor income proved far more resilient. Wages remained the largest gap to the 60:20:20 benchmark at 67.0% of NFI in H1 2026, and EBITDA improved to 7.5%, up from 5.0% in H1 2025 but still well below the 20% benchmark. For the first time, the report also benchmarks finance costs, at 2.4% of NFI across H1 2026.
However, conditions remain fragile. Large listed recruiters reported a mixed but generally steadier quarter than in prior periods, with PageGroup’s gross profit down just 0.2% year on year and Robert Walters returning to growth in June specifically, even as Hays continued to see like-for-like declines. Geopolitical uncertainty — particularly the Middle East conflict and its impact on energy prices — remained the dominant macro theme through the quarter, alongside a change in UK Prime Minister in July, and has continued to weigh on business confidence heading into H2.
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/contractor income by quarter
- A first-time benchmark of finance costs as a percentage of NFI
- Overhead analysis and cost movement across property, IT, marketing and professional fees
- Comparison with listed recruitment groups Hays, PageGroup and Robert Walters
- 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 Q2 2026 Recruitment Benchmarking Report is now available.
Get the numbers, understand the trends — and see how your business compares.
