Shares jitter at City recruiter Hays after taking chop to operations Economics Shares in Hays see-sawed on Wednesday morning as the recruiter revealed it had offloaded operations across six different countries. The FTSE 250 human resources firm said it had banked £4m on the sale of operations in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania and Sweden. The group expects the transaction to lead to a non-cash [...]
Specialist tech recruiter sees hiring slump across UK and Europe Tech A specialist recruiter in science, technology and maths has posted a slump across its UK operations as the hiring market continues to cool. Workforce consultant SThree recorded a 19 per cent drop in net fees across the UK, which refer to costs paid by an employer to fill a vacancy. Total takings in the UK [...]
Tech hiring set to spike despite dire UK job market Tech The UK labour market may be flashing warning signs, but demand for IT and tech professionals seems to be moving in the opposite direction. Over half of British businesses plan to expand their permanent IT and tech teams in the first half of next year, according to new research from recruitment firm Robert Half, a [...]
Recruiters suffer from sharp slowdown in permanent hiring December 7, 2025 Recruiters suffered a sharp slowdown in setting up permanent placements for job seekers in 2024, with an industry group suggesting the number of positions had fallen by more than a third compared to 2023. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said the UK economy’s lacklustre performance in recent years had hit businesses seen as essential [...]
Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes are ‘taking Britain back to 1980s’ as investors turn their backs September 15, 2025 Britain’s jobs market is being hollowed out just like it was in the 1980s thanks in part to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes, the chief executive of recruitment giant Reed has said, as the CBI warns the country is now seen as a less attractive place to invest than five years ago. James Reed said [...]
Losses double at global recruiter despite sales passing £2bn August 5, 2025 Losses at a UK-headquartered global recruitment giant more doubled despite its revenue passing the $3bn (£2.2bn) mark during its latest financial year. Altrincham-headquartered NES Fircroft has posted a pre-tax loss of $67.7m for the 12 months to 31 October, 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House. The loss comes after the business also [...]
Robert Walters: Recruiter’s income slumps as tariff pressures bite July 15, 2025 Recruiter Robert Walters took a hit to income in the second quarter of 2025 as economic pressures weighed on hiring. The group recorded a 13 per cent slump in net fee income to £72.7m as “macroeconomic uncertainty became more pronounced”. Fee income from specialist professional recruitment fell 14 per cent to £60.7m. Meanwhile, recruitment outsourcing [...]
Page Group profit tumbles amid job market woes and tariff uncertainty July 10, 2025 Page Group has reported a hefty decline in half-year profit as recruiters grapple with a slowdown in the jobs market and uncertainty in global trade. Gross profit fell 12.3 per cent to £389.3m year-on-year on a reported basis, with a notable 13.4 per cent decline in the UK. British firms have been grappling with tax [...]
Recruitment firms shutting at fastest rate since financial crash April 24, 2025 Recruitment agencies are shutting for business at their fastest rate in fifteen years as companies tear up hiring plans amid rising taxes and global economic uncertainty. As many as 120 recruitment businesses have appointed liquidators in the past six months, a CityAM analysis of insolvency disclosures has found, a jump of 17 per cent [...]
Pagegroup: UK profit slides as hiring slows at FTSE 250 recruiter April 9, 2025 Recruitment firm Pagegroup reported a 12.7 per cent fall in UK gross profit for the first quarter of 2025, as client and candidate confidence remained subdued and hiring decisions continued to stall. According to its latest trading update, the FTSE 250-listed firm posted UK gross profit of £23.5m in its first quarter, broadly in line [...]