The 2026 Tech Hiring Landscape

Where the market is in autumn 2026

The UK jobs market is steadier than it was a year ago, but it has not turned. The KPMG and REC Report on Jobs for August 2026 recorded the first rise in permanent placements in almost four years, although vacancies fell for the 34th month in a row and candidate availability rose at its fastest rate in three months, driven partly by redundancies.

Technology is one of the brighter spots. IT and computing was one of the sectors behind the rise in temporary vacancies in August, and demand stays strongest in software development, cyber security, data and AI. Candidates with those skills still have options; others are finding the market slower.

What candidates want

Tech professionals are open to moving but selective. Pay matters, but so do progression, meaningful work, a clear culture and flexibility. Flexibility in particular has become a reason to move: the CIPD estimated in July 2025 that around 1.1 million UK employees had changed jobs in the previous year because of a lack of flexible working, and 53% feel pressure to spend more time in the office.

Starting salaries rose in August at their quickest pace since January, according to KPMG and the REC, after two years of cooling from the peaks of 2021 to 2023. The strongest pay pressure we see is in specialist AI, data and security roles, where good candidates are hardest to find.

From the Great Retention to deliberate moves

The churn of the Great Resignation, and the caution of the Great Retention that followed, have given way to something more measured. People are not moving restlessly, and they are not staying put out of fear. They move deliberately, when a role offers better security, flexibility, progression or values that match their own.

For employers, that means loyalty is no longer secured by pay alone. Three things make the biggest difference:

• Review succession plans regularly, so internal opportunities keep pace with ambition.
• Keep hiring processes short and clear. Strong candidates often have more than one live opportunity and will not wait through long interview rounds.
• Be specific about working patterns. Most of the tech professionals we speak to want around two office days a week, and a vague or rigid policy loses candidates at offer stage.

What this means for hiring

A steadier but competitive market rewards employers who move quickly and sell the role as well as assess the candidate. Keep interviews concise and transparent, give feedback promptly, and make the case for joining in the offer itself: growth, flexibility and the team. Employers holding on to rigid, office-centric models will find the best people choose someone else.

At Deerfoot we search our own candidate database, the leading UK job boards and LinkedIn Recruiter, and every application is reviewed by two consultants before it reaches you. If you are setting a budget, our 2026 Technology Salary Report has current salary data by specialism.

Sources: KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs, September 2026; ONS, Vacancies and jobs in the UK, September 2026; CIPD, Flexible and hybrid working practices in 2025.