By Rosa Rolo, Managing Director of Major Players
2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse - fast, fearless, and impossible to ignore - and after a few years of caution and constraint, the early signals suggest momentum is back and a real shift is already underway.
In the latter half of last year, we saw a 22% increase in intent to hire, and that momentum has continued, with six in ten businesses suggesting they’ll be hiring in the next 6 months. As highlighted in our last update, the UK’s broad money supply has been rising - and in December we saw a 0.8%month-on-month increase, a signal that liquidity is improving and conditions are slowly becoming more supportive of investment, spending, and confidence.
We’re seeing this translate into real movement in the jobs market. Permanent job flow is up 20% YoY (Jan 2025 – Jan 2026), suggesting employers are regaining confidence in making longer-term hires. Freelance opportunities also rose by 8% over the same period - a meaningful change after a period where businesses leaned heavily into caution. That said, the market is still rebuilding from a lower baseline. Job flow is 30% down from where it was in 2023 underlining just how cautious hiring remained through much of last year.
Another factor impacting job opportunities was a reluctance for talent to move, as many employees prioritised stability amid ongoing job security concerns - even when opportunities did appear. However, early data from our 2026 Census suggests that almost two-thirds of employees are looking to change roles in the first half of this year, meaning even modest growth could mean more opportunity as natural churn picks up.
The motivations for moving are clear: wanting a higher salary, stronger career progression, desire to work on more interesting projects, and continued work/life balance. We’re already seeing evidence of increased mobility, with a 20% uplift in talent moving roles in 2025 compared to the year before.
However, the picture isn’t uniformly positive. Beneath the surface, worker frustration is still building - and for many, that’s presenting as a ‘career comedown’ (coined by the brilliant Stefanie Sword-Williams): a general sense of disillusion with their career due to lack of opportunities or impact from the hardship of the last couple of years.
AI is adding another layer - but also a clear opportunity to rebuild momentum. In our latest AI report (1,002 creative and marketing professionals), almost three-quarters believe AI will fundamentally reshape roles and skills across the sector, signalling a workforce that knows change is coming and wants to be ready for it. The businesses that pull ahead will be the ones that enable adoption properly. Right now there’s real headroom for improvement - 40% offer no AI training, 56% have no dedicated budget, and 60% expect self-learning.
Businesses that provide clarity and guardrails are the ones who are going to move faster in this market: employees who understand their organisation’s AI adoption plan feel 4.7x more comfortable using it in their role. And in a market where mobility is rising and so many are already open to moving, that confidence will become a key lever for retention - helping organisations keep talent engaged rather than watching uncertainty turn into attrition in the year ahead.
As the market continues to shift, having the right future centric visionary talent is a competitive advantage. At Major Players, we’re helping brands and agencies navigate this next phase - with the specialist talent, insight and support needed to move forward with confidence. Whether it’s scaling teams, making niche hires, or embedding talent into new roles across evolving structures, emerging technologies, and shifting retention strategies, we’re here to help shape what comes next. If you’d like to discuss any of these topics or explore how we can support your growth, we’d love to hear from you at talk@majorplayers.co.uk.
