Introduction
You asked, and we listened!
We’re back with more State of Recruitment 2025 content but this time, we’re looking at quarterly trends for consultants (consider this report an ‘expansion pack’ to our main report: The State of Recruitment 2025).
Before we jump in, we want to say a big thank you to our readers for your ongoing feedback; this report was created in response to a reader suggestion, and it’s because of data-savvy recruiters like you that we’re driven to release content that’s relevant and valuable. So please keep the suggestions coming, we love to see it!
Now let’s dive into some new charts...
2024 Trends: Micro-Agencies (1-9 Consultants)
Jobs Added
Throughout the year, the volume of quarterly perm jobs sourced per consultant gradually declined while the volume of contract jobs sourced remained steady (6 per consultant per quarter from Q2 to Q4). Coupled with what trends we see throughout 2024 for Placements and Booked Revenue, this suggests that micro-agencies began the year with a stronger focus on sourcing permanent jobs over contract roles.
Placements
Across most agency sizes, the average number of permanent placements per consultant per month is 3 (except for large agencies, where this drops to 2). Despite a higher volume of permanent jobs sourced compared to contract roles, consultants at micro-agencies placed twice as many candidates in contract jobs as in permanent roles on average in 2024. However, unlike small, mid-sized, and large agencies, micro-agencies saw a decline in placements in Q4 compared to Q3.
Booked Revenue
One possible explanation for the disconnect between the placements and booked revenue graphs is a hiring push in September. This could account for the surge in contract placements during Q3, followed by peak booked revenue in Q4. As a result, consultants at micro-agencies saw a strong finish to the year in terms of booked contract revenue.
Meanwhile, despite permanent placements remaining flat throughout 2024, booked permanent revenue per consultant increased quarter over quarter. This trend is particularly noteworthy when compared to consultants at small, mid-sized, and large agencies, whose booked permanent revenue showed less positive results.
Key Takeaway
A broader view reveals that micro-agencies were more reactive to contract employment than mid-sized and large agencies, which were more proactive in their approach and prioritized contract operations from the start of 2024.However, thanks to being agile, micro-agencies quickly pivoted between Q2 and Q3 and ultimately outperformed large agencies during 2024: on average, consultants at micro-agencies generated £31.8k per quarter in contract revenue, compared to £26.3k per consultant at large agencies. This performance underscores the nimbleness of micro-agencies and their ability to adapt swiftly to market fluctuations.
2024 Trends: Small Agencies (10-49 Consultants)
Jobs Added
There was a clear shift towards contract roles throughout 2024, particularly from Q3 onwards. Although small agencies joined the trend later than mid-sized and large agencies, their consultants have shown greater responsiveness to market conditions compared to micro-agencies. In fact, small agencies have the highest average quarterly job additions per consultant across all agency sizes.
Placements
Contract placements proved to be less volatile for small agencies than it did for micro-, mid-sized and large agencies in 2024, staying within the range of 12-13 placements made per consultant per quarter. The graph’s U-shape is consistent with what was seen for larger agencies (mid-sized and large) but with a much shallower dip in the middle.
Booked Revenue
Similarly to placements, booked contract revenue remained relatively stable for small agencies throughout 2024 and fluctuated within a tight range (£26.8k - £28.3k) compared to that of other agency sizes.
Key Takeaway
The volume of contract jobs added between Q2 and Q3 when compared to that of micro-agencies suggests smaller agencies were more proactive in their shift to prioritising contract operations. This ultimately could be what led to more stable quarter-over-quarter placement volumes per consultant, and small agency consultants even sported an average booked contract revenue figure of £30.3k in Q3 2024 - a close runner-up to what consultants at large agencies achieved in their best quarter for contract revenue during Q4 (£33k).
2024 Trends: Mid-Sized Agencies (50-99 Consultants)
Jobs Added
Mid-sized agencies added more jobs per consultant than large agencies, while staying ahead of micro- and small agencies by adopting contract operations earlier in 2024. Although both contract and permanent job numbers have plateaued, contract roles were a clear priority for consultants at agencies of this size last year.
Placements
As agencies grow in size, consultants experienced a progressively weaker Q3 for contract placements. One possible reason for this could be that as agencies scale, their focus shifts from maximizing Q3 results to prioritizing performance in Q4.
Another explanation may be that interest rate cuts began in the U.S. (July) and UK (August), reducing borrowing costs and slightly improving perm hiring confidence - a market factor that may have resulted in agencies taking their foot off the gas for contract operations around this time.
Booked Revenue
Consultants at mid-sized agencies experienced a particularly turbulent 2024 in terms of contract operations, with an average decline of £25k in booked revenue between Q2 and Q3 alone. Notably, Q2 saw the highest average booked revenue across all agency sizes throughout 2024.
Given that mid-sized agencies also lead in average booked revenue per consultant for both permanent and contract placements, this suggests they may be the most efficient in managing contract operations.
Key Takeaway
Mid-sized and large agencies exhibited similar quarterly consultant trends throughout 2024, with both demonstrating a noticeable shift toward contract operations at the beginning of the year. However, one key difference is that mid-sized agencies generated higher volumes of booked contract revenue earlier in the year (Q2) compared to large agencies who didn’t see growth in contract revenue until Q4. This suggests that consultants at mid-sized agencies outperformed their counterparts at large agencies by capitalizing on shifting market conditions more quickly - a likely perk of mid-sized agencies being more nimble and having fewer bureaucratic constraints.
2024 Trends: Large Agencies (100+ Consultants)
Jobs Added
Interestingly, this graph illustrates almost the exact opposite of what micro-agencies saw throughout 2024: whereas consultants at micro-agencies saw perm jobs decline and contract jobs plateau, large agency consultants saw contract jobs decline throughout the year and perm jobs flatline across most quarters.
Placements
Similar to mid-sized agencies, consultants at large agencies saw a slow Q3 for placements before recovering in Q4. This trend was amplified for large agencies where, instead of a ~£8k increase in booked contract revenue between Q3 and Q4 (mid-sized agencies), booked contract revenue shot up by ~£12k per avg. consultant during this same time period for large agencies.
Booked Revenue
Consultants at large agencies saw almost equal volume in booked revenue across perm and contract operations throughout 2024, averaging at £26.1k and £26.3k per quarter respectively. This suggests that large agencies adopted a more balanced approach in a market that saw fluctuating demand for both permanent and flexible staffing solutions throughout 2024.
Key Takeaway
The steady decline we see in contract jobs throughout 2024 could suggest a strong push to shift to contract operations at the beginning of the year, followed by a period of adjustment and uncertainty as large agencies refined their approach. Eventually, booked contract revenue ultimately reached its peak in Q4 2024, indicating that businesses successfully adapted to the changing landscape and optimized their contract recruitment strategies. While agencies of other sizes were able to capitalize on contract trends sooner in the year, it’s likely that larger agencies may be able to showcase consistently higher booked contract revenue figures throughout 2025.
Stay tuned for our mid-year report (coming in July) which will reveal how large agencies navigate their contract vs. perm operations throughout Jan-Jun 2025.
Some Added Context…
You’ve seen the graphs, and now for the expert opinions.
Watch 2025 Recruiter Benchmarks (+ How to Beat Them) below where our CEO Derry Holt is joined by Nick Beecroft (Access Group) and Kyle Hobbs (Ringover) to discuss the latest recruitment trends alongside actionable strategies for a successful 2025.
Be sure to also check out The State of Recruitment 2025 for even more insights including agency benchmarks, funnel ratios, 2024 market conditions and more.
Methodology
This report is based on data collected from 322 recruitment agencies between 01 Jan 2024 - 31 Dec 2024.
Please note:
- This report’s financial benchmarks take into consideration the following currencies: AED, AUD, BHD, BMD, BRL, CAD, CHF, CNY, COP, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, ILS, INR, JPY, KRW, KWD, KYD, MXN, MYR, NOK, NZD, OMR, PLN, QAR, RON, SAR, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, TWD and ZAR.
- For consistency, all revenue figures have been converted to GBP by using average historical conversion rates for each month covered by the dataset.
- Sample size somewhat varies throughout the year as customers onboard/off-board the OneUp Sales platform.
- Data exceeding 3 standard deviations from the mean of any metric (e.g. jobs added, placements, etc.) was classified as anomalous and excluded from analysis.
Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoyed this content!
For queries, feedback or suggestions about future content you’d like to see from OneUp Labs, please email us at marketing@oneupsales.co.uk
If you’re looking to create an accountable, resilient sales team that uses data to drive performance, chat to a member of our team to learn more.
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