In the first quarter of 2026, the total number of requests for flexible workers decreased by 12 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. The government remains the largest client, accounting for 44 percent of all requests, although demand there also fell by 21 percent. This is according to a data analysis by HR tech service provider HeadFirst Group, which mapped out the demand for highly educated external professionals. Following the government are utilities (25%) and system integrators and software development (9%) as the sectors with the largest share of flexible staffing requests. 

Business analysts and software engineers are in highest demand

When looking at the most in-demand roles, business analysts lead the way with a 2.9% share of all assignments. They are followed by software engineers (2.4%), Scrum Masters, and DevOps engineers (both 2.3%). The sharpest decline in demand is seen among software testers: their share fell by 1.8 percentage points. Demand for customer service representatives, on the other hand, showed the strongest increase, rising by 0.8 percentage points.

AI knowledge as an emerging skill

In the first quarter of 2026, clients continue to prioritize proven IT skills. Scrum (26%), knowledge of information and communication technology (26%), and agile methodology (24%) once again top the list of most in-demand skills. Demand for Java skills saw the sharpest decline: down 9.3 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. The biggest gainer is AI, up 2.2 percentage points, indicating that AI knowledge is increasingly being included as a hard requirement in job postings.

According to Ton Sluiter, data manager at HeadFirst Group, the sharp decline in the total number of requests points to a cautious start to the year among clients: “But that doesn’t mean organizations are standing still. In the retail sector, in fact, we’re seeing strong growth. At the same time, it’s becoming increasingly clear where the need lies: not just operational capacity, but professionals who can actively apply technology. The rise of AI expertise as a sought-after skill underscores that shift. You see this development across all sectors, and I expect that trend to continue in the coming quarters.”