Employment Opportunities: Q3 2026
Employment remained one of the more consistently active specialist practice areas during the third quarter of 2026.
Across the firms covered by the Rackle Legal Hiring Index, 48 Employment vacancies were active during Q3, compared with 46 during Q2. Twenty-one new roles were advertised during the quarter, exactly the same number as during Q2.
The figures therefore point to a remarkably consistent level of recruitment across the middle two quarters of the year, with both the number of opportunities and the number of firms recruiting remaining broadly unchanged.
Below we look at the firms that were advertising employment opportunities during the quarter, the vacancies they advertised and how those opportunities evolved between July and September.
Executive Summary
48 Employment vacancies were active during Q3, compared with 46 in Q2.
21 new roles were advertised, exactly the same number as during Q2.
27 firms advertised at least one Employment vacancy, compared with 26 in Q2.
16 firms opened at least one new Employment role during the quarter.
31 vacancies remained open entering Q4.
Only one new vacancy during the quarter was suitable for a newly qualified lawyer.
*This review is based on recruitment activity across the 80 law firms that form the basis of the Rackle Legal Hiring Index. These firms comprise UK international, US and City/regional firms that consistently account for around 80% of the associate and PSL roles advertised directly in the London market, allowing meaningful trends to be identified.
Recruitment Activity
Employment recruitment remained remarkably consistent during Q3.
Twenty-seven vacancies had already been live entering the quarter and a further 21 new roles were advertised between July and September, resulting in 48 vacancies being active during Q3.
Seventeen vacancies closed during the quarter, leaving 31 being advertised entering Q4.
The comparison with Q2 is particularly striking. Forty-six vacancies were active during Q2 and 21 new roles were advertised. During Q3 those figures were 48 and 21 respectively.
The number of firms participating in the market was also almost identical, increasing only slightly from 26 in Q2 to 27 in Q3.
Rather than showing a short-term spike followed by a slowdown, the data therefore suggests sustained demand for Employment lawyers across two consecutive quarters.
Vacancy Duration
Thirty-one Employment vacancies remained open entering Q4.
Of these:
19 had been advertised for three months or less.
5 had been advertised for between three and six months.
7 had been advertised for six months or more.
Around 61% of the vacancies entering Q4 had therefore been advertised during the previous three months.
There was, however, also a noticeable group of longstanding vacancies, with seven roles having been advertised for six months or more. This may indicate that some firms are finding particular levels or types of Employment experience more difficult to recruit.
Level of Opportunities
As expected, the greatest number of new vacancies targeted lawyers with between two and five years' post-qualification experience, although there were also seven roles aimed at lawyers with more than seven years' PQE.
At the more junior end of the market, two NQ vacancies that were carried over from Q2 were filled and there was only one new NQ role in Q3 which opened in the first half of September.
Professional Support Lawyer Recruitment
As with Q2, Professional Support Lawyer recruitment remained relatively limited in Q3. Two PSL / Knowledge roles were carried over from Q2, one of these was filled in Q3. With the addition of one new roles that was advertised in Q3, two roles carried over to Q4.
Which Firms Were Recruiting?
Recruitment activity was spread across a broad range of firms. 27 firms advertised at least one role and of the 16 firms that advertised a new role:
8 were City/regional firms.
7 were UK international firms.
1 was a US firm.
The analysis focuses on firms that advertise vacancies directly through their careers pages. Some firms, particularly a number of US firms with substantial Banking & Finance practices, do not advertise their roles on their career pages and therefore cannot be analysed using longitudinal vacancy data. This report should be viewed as an analysis of the advertised Banking & Finance market, rather than a complete picture of Banking & Finance recruitment in London.
The Rackle View
Employment continued to stand out as one of the more consistently active specialist areas of the London legal recruitment market during Q3.
There was very little change from Q2: 48 vacancies were active compared with 46, 21 new roles were advertised in both quarters, and the number of firms recruiting increased only marginally from 26 to 27.
That consistency is perhaps more significant than a large quarter-on-quarter increase would have been. It suggests that the relatively high level of Employment recruitment seen during Q2 was not simply a temporary spike.
Demand also remained broad, with new vacancies being opened across both UK international and City/regional firms.
Overall, Q3 reinforced the picture seen during Q2: Employment remains a consistently active part of the advertised legal recruitment market, with sustained demand spread across a broad range of firms.
If you would like to explore the roles that have been carried over into Q4, please visit our Opportunity tracker.
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