21.01.2026

When hiring slows, planning matters more than ever

Recruitment activity in manufacturing is continuing to soften. Many employers are still recruiting for some roles and having relative success filling vacancies. But overall activity is falling, and decisions to hire are being taken more cautiously than earlier in the year.

This slowdown is not driven by a lack of work. It reflects rising employment costs, higher employer National Insurance contributions, increases to the National Living Wage, and the added burden of preparing for new employment law obligations. Together, these pressures are making employers think twice before expanding headcount.

At the same time, familiar challenges remain. Skills shortages, gaps in experience, and difficulty finding candidates with the right qualifications continue to limit recruitment success. Recruitment may be slowing, but the underlying people challenges have not gone away.

Caution is replacing confidence

The Q4 HR Bulletin shows a workforce market shaped by constraint rather than collapse.

There are signs of a wider pool of jobseekers as economic inactivity falls and unemployment rises. In theory, this should make recruitment easier. In practice, many manufacturers are holding back, weighing the long-term cost and risk of taking people on against the immediate needs of the business.

This creates a difficult balancing act. Delay recruitment for too long, and capability gaps widen. Hire without a plan, and cost pressure increases further. This is where workforce planning becomes critical.

This pattern sits alongside persistent skills shortages and growing sensitivity around pay fairness, which are shaping workforce decisions just as much as hiring volumes. 

Workforce planning does not pause when recruitment slows

When recruitment tightens, the focus needs to shift from filling vacancies to making the best use of the people you already have. This is a moment to step back and assess where your business is heading, and whether your current workforce is aligned to that direction.

That means:

  • Reviewing whether you have the skills and experience you need for the next 12 to 18 months
  • Understanding where work could stall if key roles remain unfilled
  • Identifying opportunities to redeploy, upskill, or redesign roles rather than defaulting to replacement hiring

Employers who use slower recruitment periods to plan tend to recover faster when conditions improve. Those who wait often find themselves underprepared and under-resourced.

What employers should do next

Review your workforce strategy: Take stock of headcount, critical roles, and the skills you will need to deliver your business goals over the next 3 to 5 years. Be clear on what you may need to buy in, and what you can realistically grow from within. A simple workforce plan can show where development or redeployment is more realistic than recruitment.

Audit your people processes: When margins are tight, inefficiencies cost more. Reviewing recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and workforce data can surface risks and gaps before they turn into bigger problems.

Build flexibility into HR capacity: If hiring freezes make it difficult to expand internal teams, interim or fractional HR support can help maintain momentum on essential projects such as restructures, pay reviews, or policy updates.

Align leadership around priorities: Bring senior leaders together to agree what matters most in the current climate. Clear direction helps managers make consistent decisions and reduces uncertainty across the workforce.

This is one part of a wider Workforce Shift across manufacturing, covering recruitment, skills, pay, retention and the policy changes now coming into force. 

How Make UK can help

We work with manufacturers to turn recruitment pressure into stronger workforce planning and decision making. Our HR and Employment experts support employers with:

  • Workforce planning and HR strategy aligned to business priorities
  • HR audits to identify gaps, risks, and inefficiencies
  • Interim or fractional HR support to maintain capacity without long-term cost commitments
  • Leadership workshops to align people strategy with operational reality, including our Leadership Development courses for managers and future leaders
  • Practical skills training to strengthen judgement and choice-making, such as our Critical Thinking and Decision Making course

When recruitment slows, clarity matters. Having a clear plan helps employers stay productive, compliant, and ready to respond when conditions change.

If you would like support reviewing your workforce plans, building leadership capability, or strengthening decision making across your team, get in touch. 
Email [email protected] or call 0808 168 5874.