A market on the move

After the year-end slowdown, January shows a clear rebound in activity across the Nordic consulting market. This is largely seasonal: December is typically affected by holidays, and the transition into January almost always brings higher volumes. With that context in mind, published assignments increased by 11.3% compared to December and were 1.0% higher year-on-year.
Consultant availability moved in the opposite direction. The number of available consultants decreased slightly compared to both December (–1.2%) and January last year (–1.1%. At the same time, the number of active buyers increased sharply, up 11.1% month-over-month and 24.2% year-on-year. Taken together, this points to a market where demand is broadening, while competition among consultants remains high but is no longer increasing.

🌍 Geography
At an aggregated level, activity in the major metropolitan regions increased slightly (+0.7%). While capitals continue to play an important role, the differences between regions remain relatively small this month.

🏠 Remote work
Remote work continues to be a structural feature of the market. Compared to December, both fully remote and hybrid assignments increased slightly, resulting in a total remote share of 38.6% in January.

🧩 Roles (Nordic perspective)
Changes between roles are modest overall. Developer roles showed a small increase (+1.5%), and management-related roles also moved slightly upward. At the same time, demand eased somewhat for business analysts and IT security specialists (both around –1%). No dramatic shifts – but a continued selective market.

📄 Further reading
Our 2025 annual report is now available, based on actual market activity across the Nordic consulting market – not surveys.

📸 Image
Photo from a cross-country skiing session in Velamsund, Nacka.