Recent statistics point to a slowdown in employment expansion, with businesses showing increased restraint in recruitment strategies.
The Quarterly Employment Survey reveals that the count of temporary workers declined during the second quarter of 2026.
This reduction was most pronounced within administrative and support sectors, where more than 1,000 positions were lost.
Total hours worked across the economy also contracted slightly over the three months leading to July.
HMRC records show that the number of individuals on company payrolls remained flat at approximately 819,000 between April and August.
Despite this stagnation in headcount, the overall employment figure registered a minor increase driven primarily by growth in health and social care roles.
That sector added roughly 2,000 jobs during the quarter to offset losses elsewhere.
The unemployment rate ticked up marginally to 2.4% in July but continues to sit at historically low levels.
Analysts remain uncertain whether these trends signal cyclical cost-cutting or an emerging shift caused by artificial intelligence replacing lower-skilled white-collar roles.