‘Uncertain’ economy gives another recruitment firm a balance sheet bruise
Uncertainty over the UK economy continues to loom over recruitment firms, with Page Group reporting a year-on-year revenue fall in the third quarter, blaming employers’ caution on hiring and low “candidate confidence.”
The recruitment firm told markets this morning that overall group gross profit was down 7.9 per cent at £242.2m in the third quarter.
UK revenues slipped more than 18 per cent as headwinds across the economy continued to sap confidence for firms and job-switchers alike.
The firm saw a 5.8 per cent rise in temporary recruitment and a decrease of 12.1 per cent in permanent.
As of 9am today, shares were down 3.54 per cent to 409p per share.
Nicholas Kirk, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Reflecting the uncertain macro-economic conditions, temporary recruitment continued to outperform permanent, as clients sought more flexible options.”
Analysts had predicted the results would be “informative” of the wider UK economy, with the recruitment firms often serving as a canary in the coalmine for trends that show up in official data only months later.
Yesterday, Robert Walters revealed a similar revenue slip as economic uncertainty weighed on hiring.
The firm warned that tech and financial services were particularly slow.
Kirk said: “Candidate shortages remain acute and are supportive of continued high fee rates. Salary levels remain elevated, albeit the salary increases offered to candidates reduced compared to Q3 2022.
“These lower offers, combined with lower candidate confidence, led to a further increase in the number of offers rejected by candidates, either through employer buybacks or unwillingness to risk the move for the size of incentive on offer.”