Contract types.
What share of roles are permanent, contract, temporary or apprenticeships?
68.4% of UK employers' adverts that state a basis are permanent; 9.8% are apprenticeships (n=2,903 employers).
Sample: 2,903 employers · source: UK employers' careers pages · data to 18 October 2026
By sector
| Sector | Figure | Sample (employers) | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water, sewerage & waste | 88.1% | 33 | Water, sewerage & waste: 88.1% of employers' adverts permanent, 1.9% contract, 5.4% temporary (n=33 employers). |
| Transport & storage | 81% | 98 | Transport & storage: 81% of employers' adverts permanent, 2% contract, 10.1% temporary (n=98 employers). |
| Finance & insurance | 79.9% | 113 | Finance & insurance: 79.9% of employers' adverts permanent, 3.1% contract, 8.2% temporary (n=113 employers). |
| Construction | 77.7% | 280 | Construction: 77.7% of employers' adverts permanent, 4.2% contract, 4.7% temporary (n=280 employers). |
| Manufacturing | 75.1% | 263 | Manufacturing: 75.1% of employers' adverts permanent, 4.3% contract, 3.9% temporary (n=263 employers). |
| Wholesale & retail | 73.2% | 214 | Wholesale & retail: 73.2% of employers' adverts permanent, 5% contract, 13.9% temporary (n=214 employers). |
| Real estate | 72.3% | 84 | Real estate: 72.3% of employers' adverts permanent, 5% contract, 11.6% temporary (n=84 employers). |
| Administrative & support services | 72.2% | 188 | Administrative & support services: 72.2% of employers' adverts permanent, 7.8% contract, 13.9% temporary (n=188 employers). |
| Health & social care | 71.7% | 311 | Health & social care: 71.7% of employers' adverts permanent, 5% contract, 18.8% temporary (n=311 employers). |
| Hospitality & food service | 69.3% | 146 | Hospitality & food service: 69.3% of employers' adverts permanent, 7.1% contract, 18.3% temporary (n=146 employers). |
| Professional, scientific & technical | 69.3% | 340 | Professional, scientific & technical: 69.3% of employers' adverts permanent, 8.8% contract, 10.5% temporary (n=340 employers). |
| Agriculture, forestry & fishing | 64.4% | 35 | Agriculture, forestry & fishing: 64.4% of employers' adverts permanent, 5.7% contract, 23.7% temporary (n=35 employers). |
| Public administration & defence | 62.5% | 30 | Public administration & defence: 62.5% of employers' adverts permanent, 1.7% contract, 31.7% temporary (n=30 employers). |
| Information & communication | 60.6% | 259 | Information & communication: 60.6% of employers' adverts permanent, 18.7% contract, 12.2% temporary (n=259 employers). |
| Other services | 57.8% | 161 | Other services: 57.8% of employers' adverts permanent, 11% contract, 23.9% temporary (n=161 employers). |
| Education | 46.8% | 199 | Education: 46.8% of employers' adverts permanent, 11.1% contract, 19.4% temporary (n=199 employers). |
| Arts, entertainment & recreation | 42.1% | 112 | Arts, entertainment & recreation: 42.1% of employers' adverts permanent, 26.2% contract, 28.7% temporary (n=112 employers). |
How this is measured
Job pages: ATS employment_type, then advert text, then the title classification. Unknown excluded from the denominator. value = permanent %. Employer-weighted: each employer's share of its own adverts is computed, then averaged across employers, so every employer counts once however many adverts it posts; n = employers (min n applies to employers), value_json.adverts = adverts behind them. Adverts: job pages whose linked title the title classifier settled as a real job (an "Apprenticeships", "Early Careers" or "Graduate programme" page is not an advert); pages whose title is not classified yet are left out, so coverage grows as titles are classified. Adverts whose own stated posted / closing date is more than 180 days old are stale and left out.
Cite this
Free to quote with a credit and a link.
ProdReady Recruitment (2026). Contract types. Data to 18 October 2026. https://ProdReadyRecruitment.com/research/contract_mix
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