Intelligence · Sector map · October 2026
Recruitment agencies in the UK
50,334 active companies; 7,052 formed in the last twelve months.
Computed from Lockley's index, updated 20 October 2026.
50,334
Active UK companies
7,052
Formed in the last twelve months
14% of the sector
9,192
With a website we could match
18%
Recruitment agencies: companies formed each year, still on the register
2,745
2019
2,688
2020
2,718
2021
3,290
2022
4,584
2023
4,842
2024
6,785
2025
5,753
2026
Where they are registered
Post townActive companies
London11,850
Birmingham1,465
Manchester1,070
Leeds696
Cardiff634
Bristol608
Nottingham458
Glasgow447
Ilford438
Liverpool405
Registered office, which is not always where a company trades.
Hiring in the last 30 days, manager level and above
FunctionRolesCompanies
Sales252126
Operations14984
Finance9551
Marketing4820
HR3429
Engineering2420
Customer success97
Procurement44
Legal22
Product11
Jobs data from Adzuna, matched to companies in the index.
Recorded in October 2026 so far
SignalRecordsCompanies
Hiring at manager level and above298160
First hires in a function4543
New sites44
Public contracts ending11
What is counted
Active UK companies whose Companies House SIC codes begin with 78109, 78200. A company with several codes can appear in more than one sector. Figures are recomputed every night.
SourcesCompanies House (Open Government Licence) · Jobs data from Adzuna · Lockley's index and its sources
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