September News & Views
September is typically, in the recruitment world, a bit like new year. People return from holidays refreshed and having had some time away from the office can often be ready to make decisions and changes.
This year was no different as hiring continues to recover in the UK market and social research sector. There are still some skills shortages which is presenting challenges for business but the sector is showing some signs of recovery.
We recruit across market research, data and analysis and this is what we saw in September:
Supply and demand
UK permanent placements rose slightly in August for the first time since late 2022, and research is showing signs of life too: Ipsos returned to 3% organic growth in Q2. But UK vacancies are still down 4.9% on the year, and in the US payrolls rose by just 29,000 in September against a forecast of 84,000.
The shortage sits at mid-to-senior level. Junior candidates are plentiful. Insight managers and analytics leads who can handle stakeholders are not.
We are seeing more vacancies advertised with brands directly – further evidence that the market is shifting in some ways to self-serve / DIY.
What's happening in the sector
Social research is winning long-term work. HMRC has awarded BMG a three-year, £3m research agreement, and Ofgem has given Verian a qualitative call-off contract running to 2029. Multi-year contracts need stable delivery teams, which means suppliers are hiring for retention as well as growth.
At the same time, DIY platforms are growing fast. Ipsos. Digital recorded double-digit growth in Q1. My read is that routine project work is moving onto platforms, and the demand left for people is interpretation and advice.
The market research agency sector needs to continue to evolve to remain part of the insight story – as consultants and advisors – as real experts.
Salaries
It's a two-speed market. Starting salaries are rising faster, driven by competition for niche skills, yet UK private-sector pay growth fell to 2.9%, its lowest since October 2020. Generalist budgets are flat, while candidates who pair Python or SQL with commercial storytelling are attracting counter-offers.
The biggest hiring challenge: defining the role
One agency posted an AI-focused entry-level role four different ways before getting it right. Too much technical language attracted software professionals, and too much research language attracted traditionalists. If you can't say what the job is, the right people won't apply.
What to do differently this quarter
Agree the role scope and salary band before you go to market. Then run two interview stages and decide within 48 hours of the final one. The best candidates are in several processes at once, and the slowest offer loses.
Be careful about your use of AI – recent research showed that 40% of job seekers have abandoned an application due to AI-driven screening processes and 68% of job seekers want a greater human involvement.
Planning Q4 or Q1 hires? Message us for live benchmarks on your role.
What are you seeing in your own hiring? We'd like to hear whether the squeeze is where we think it is.
Have a great October, Sinead & Catherine
sinead@thehassonpartnership.com
catherine@thehassonpartnership.com
#MarketResearch #Insights #DataAnalytics #Recruitment #HiringTrends
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Sources: KPMG/REC UK Report on Jobs (September 2026, August data); ONS Labour Market Overview (15 September 2026); US Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2026 Employment Situation; Ipsos H1 2026 results and Q1 2026 update; UK public sector contract awards (HMRC, Ofgem), September 2026; Research World / Verve coverage of AI-ready talent in market