The fact that there was so much hiring over the past 5-10 years meant that there was also a lot more recruiters. And now that the hiring is reduced, the number

The fact that there was so much hiring over the past 5-10 years meant that there was also a lot more recruiters. And now that the hiring is reduced, the number of recruiters haven't (especially since they tend to work on commission, rather than on a fixed salary). Since they now have fewer jobs to connect people to, even they are likely to get more desperate and send more recruiting pitches to candidates, because they aren't filling as many jobs as easily and earning as much commission. IOW, seeing an increase in recruiter activity can be completely consistent with reduced hiring (and is also consistent with increased hiring), so in itself it doesn't tell you much.