If it has felt harder to fill roles this summer, the official numbers now agree with you.
The Office for National Statistics published its latest labour-market figures on 18 August. Vacancies across the UK have fallen to 707,000. Outside the pandemic period, that is the lowest level since 2014. Payrolled employee numbers are still slipping, down about 94,000 over the year on the early July estimate. Unemployment sits at 4.9%, and pay growth has eased to 3.5% for regular pay. The ONS even notes that some smaller firms are holding off hiring because of higher labour costs.
None of this is a crisis. But it is a clear signal, and it changes what wins work this autumn.
What a cooler market actually does to a desk
When vacancies fall, three things tend to happen at once. Clients hire more carefully and take longer to sign off a role. Candidates stay where they are, because moving feels risky. And competition between agencies for the roles that do exist gets sharper.
In that environment, price and speed matter less than they did a year ago. What matters is whether a client trusts you to handle the work cleanly. A cautious client moving one difficult vacancy is not going to hand it to an agency that feels like a compliance risk. They will give it to the desk that makes their life easier and safer.
Why compliance quietly becomes a selling point
This is the part agency owners often miss. In a busy market, compliance feels like admin that slows you down. In a quiet market, it becomes a reason clients choose you.
Since April 2026, the Fair Work Agency has been bringing enforcement of core employment rights into one place, and it is building up, not winding down. Clients know this. When they are being careful with every hire, they notice which suppliers have their paperwork in order, and which ones make them nervous.
So the tidy-up that always sits at the bottom of the list, contracts that match how people actually work, pay records that add up, right to work checks done and dated, is not just protection against a claim. It is something you can say out loud to a client who is choosing carefully.
Three things worth doing this month
First, treat your compliance as a shop window, not a filing cabinet. If a cautious client asked how you handle contracts, pay and right to work, could you answer clearly and show them? If yes, say so when you pitch.
Second, get ahead of the tribunal changes. From 1 October 2026 the time limit to bring most tribunal claims doubles from three months to six, so keep records longer and deal with complaints early. We have set out what is changing, and how unpaid awards are now enforced, in the Disputes and tribunals guide.
Third, have your say while you still can. The guaranteed-hours consultation, which covers agency workers, closes on 25 August. The holiday pay consultation closes on 22 September.
A quiet market is not the time to cut corners. It is the time to be the agency that clients trust when they cannot afford to get a hire wrong.
General information, not legal advice. Take advice from your own solicitor on your own contracts and processes. If you want your compliance to be something you can show clients with confidence, that is what BIOR Agency Membership and the Agency Compliance Pack are built for.