La Jornada: In GB, they reduce hiring of personnel due to higher labor costs: analysts

More than a third of UK businesses (39 per cent) have reduced hiring full-time staff as labor costs, including wages, national insurance contributions and regulatory expenses, rose 9.7 per cent in 2025, according to YouGov data commissioned by Employment Hero. In addition, of the companies surveyed, about 25 percent accepted that they have been hiring independent workers and are estimated to continue doing so.

“Permanent employment has been considered the route into the labor market, but this premise is being tested as the landscape changes for companies hiring,” said Kevin Fitzgerald, CEO of Employment Hero, UK.

“If companies reduce hiring full-time employees and turn more to freelancers and contractors, the labor market is transformed.”

Fitzgerald also said that a recent graduate looking for their first job, a parent returning to work or someone trying to enter a new sector, tend to accept jobs with short-term contracts to expand their work history.

Consulting firm Staffing Industry Analysts revealed that 56 percent of companies surveyed reported that staffing has become more complex in the recent 12 months, while 19 percent say it is “much more complex”; only 2 percent confirmed that it has become easier to hire. The survey with data from YouGov gathered more than 1,016 companies this year.