How many UK companies make a first-of-function hire each week?

The Lockley index recorded 101 first-of-function hires in the week from 8 to 15 October 2026, down from 130 the week before, a fall of 29 or about 22 per cent. A first-of-function hire is a company advertising for the first time a role in a function it has not hired for before, such as its first finance, HR or IT role. It is one of the rarer hiring signals, which is why it is worth a call.

What the figures show

Both hiring measures fell together. Significant roles posted went from 484 to 369, a fall of 115 or about 24 per cent, and first-of-function hires fell by about 22 per cent. The two moved by similar proportions, which suggests the fall reflects the overall volume of postings in the data rather than a change specific to first hires. That is an observation about two weeks of data, not a forecast.

The source is job postings, using jobs data from Adzuna. Each record is counted by the date on the record. A company that reposts a role may be counted again, and postings the source does not carry are not counted at all, so treat the figures as the index's own count, not a census of UK hiring.

Why a first hire is a useful signal

Most hiring is replacement or growth in an existing team, and the company already has suppliers for it. A first hire in a function usually means the company has grown to the point where it needs something it has done without, and it is unlikely to have settled on its tools or advisers yet. That makes it a good moment for a managed IT provider, an outsourced payroll bureau, a recruiter or a software seller to introduce themselves.

The ratio matters too. Of 369 significant roles this week, 101 were first-of-function hires, so a seller who filters to first hires removes most of the noise. Our guides on first hires in a function and on a first IT role for managed services show the approach for two specific cases.

How to act on a first hire

Read the posting. Note the role, the seniority and anything it says about the team. Open with that: you saw they are hiring their first person in the function, and you wonder how they are covering the work until then. Avoid assuming a problem the posting does not show.

Check that the posting is still live and that the company is the one you think it is. Recruitment agencies often advertise on behalf of a client, and in those cases the named company may not be the employer. Our guide on checking a buying signal covers this.

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