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Hays has become the latest UK recruitment company to warn about economic uncertainty and a difficult jobs market.
Commenting alongside the FTSE 250 group’s latest quarterly results, chief financial officer James Hilton said: “Who knows where [the economy] goes from here . . . it is just too difficult to predict at the moment.” He added that “the world is feeling fragile”.
UK recruiters are feeling the knock-on effects of an increase in national insurance contributions for businesses and the escalating global trade war. In a survey in February, they reported the toughest conditions in the job market since the pandemic.
Hays said on Wednesday that net fee income from job placements fell 9 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the three months to the end of March compared with the same period last year. Fee income in the group’s two largest markets — the UK and Ireland, and Germany — was down 13 and 9 per cent respectively. In France it fell 19 per cent.
Fee income from temporary roles, which made up 62 per cent of total placements, was 6 per cent lower in the quarter compared with a year ago. Permanent hire fee income, which made up the remaining 38 per cent, was down 14 per cent.
Hays said the challenging conditions were likely to continue into 2026. Shares in the group fell 2 per cent in morning trading and are now down 13 per cent since the start of the year.
“It has been a pretty rough recruitment market for the last two years,” Hilton said. “These are challenging markets and we see that across Europe,” he added, noting difficulties in France and also in Germany, where a slowdown in the automotive sector has held back hiring.
Hays results follow those of rivals PageGroup and Robert Walters, which have both recently flagged challenging market conditions. On Tuesday, Robert Walters reported an unclear outlook and said it would cut costs.
Toby Fowlston, chief executive of Robert Walters, said: “The weaker sentiment seen in Europe in late 2024 has continued . . . More recently, increased uncertainty regarding the flow of global trade due to tariffs is likely to be a further headwind.”
