Total placements made increased by 29% in 2023. This increase was led by the strong growth of contract and temp placements, which increased by 54%. Permanent placements, however, decreased by 17% YOY.

Whilst the total number of placements increased significantly, the total number of jobs created increased only by 2% in 2023 vs 2022. This indicates that Firefish clients were more efficient at making placements in 2023, and the increased volume of applications from existing customers demonstrates that agencies are making more effective use of their database to more efficiently place candidates.

There was a decrease of 16% in the number of permanent jobs created in 2023, which aligns with the decrease in placements made. External economic pressures including political turmoil, international conflict, rising interest rates, increasing unemployment and talent shortages have demonstrably impacted the recruitment industry once again in 2023. In the UK there has been rising unemployment throughout 2023 which reached 4.2% in September vs the YOY comparison of 3.6%. This rapidly fluctuating economic pressure has forced recruitment agencies to prove once again that they can find opportunities in adversity.

There was significant growth in the number of placements made in the construction sector in 2023 and a peak of permanent placements 224% above average in September. Temp and contract placements in the technology sector enjoyed 6 months of steady growth between May and October, increasing by 136% over this period.