The market has bifurcated. That is the single most important thing to understand about the next six months. 

Generalist talent has rarely been more available. Specialist talent has rarely been scarcer. If you are planning hiring for the second half of 2026, that split needs to sit at the centre of your workforce strategy, not the edge of it. 

Here is what the data is telling us, and what I think organisations need to do about it. 

Hiring is beginning to stabilise

The prolonged hiring downturn is showing signs of levelling out. Recent KPMG/REC data points to permanent hiring declines becoming more marginal across the UK market, and technology and engineering remain among the strongest-performing sectors for permanent vacancy activity. 

Candidate availability is still elevated. But the window for securing high-calibre specialist talent at a sensible price is starting to narrow as confidence gradually returns. If you have been waiting for the “right moment” to make a critical hire, that moment is closer to closing than it looks. 

IT spend is accelerating

Global technology investment is not slowing down. Gartner forecasts worldwide IT spending will reach $6.31 trillion in 2026, up 13.5% year on year. Data centre systems investment is set to grow significantly, alongside continued acceleration in AI infrastructure, software and cloud spend. 

Where investment flows, hiring demand follows. Boards approving technology budgets in H2 should expect the workforce conversation to follow close behind. 

Salaries have split into two markets

Generalist roles are seeing more moderate salary movement, broadly in line with wider compensation planning forecasts. Specialist disciplines, including AI, cyber, senior cloud engineering and advanced data capability, continue to materially outperform the broader market. Constrained supply and growing strategic demand are driving that gap, and technology continues to command some of the highest advertised salaries in the UK. 

This is the buyer’s market and the seller’s market happening at the same time, just for different roles. Treating your whole workforce plan as one market is the fastest way to misprice both. 

Five actions to prioritise now

Based on what we are seeing across thousands of live roles on our platform, here is where I would focus attention through H2: 

  1. Secure critical specialist hires before competition intensifies further. The window is narrowing, not closing. 
  2. Audit the AI tools used across hiring, HR and employee monitoring ahead of upcoming regulatory deadlines. 
  3. Rebalance retention investment as replacement costs and hiring timelines continue to rise. 
  4. Treat AI literacy as a capability expectation, not a future training initiative. 
  5. Review progression and retention data for women in technology, particularly at mid-career and leadership levels. 

Where this leaves you

The question for H2 2026 is no longer whether to hire. It is which talent model fits which problem, and how quickly your organisation can adapt. Our H2 2026 Workforce Insights Report breaks this down role by role, with live salary benchmarks across every technology discipline. 

If this raises a question for your organisation, my team and I are always happy to talk it through. 

 

Sources and references 

This article draws on La Fosse proprietary placement and hiring data, consultant insight from live market conversations, and external labour market and technology investment reporting, including: 

  • KPMG/REC, UK Report on Jobs 
  • Gartner, worldwide IT spending forecast, 2026 

All external statistics referenced were accurate at the time of publication. Full sources and methodology are available in the H2 2026 Workforce Insights Report.