Global hiring pullback shows no sign of easing, says recruiter Hays

Britain’s corporate jobs market remained in the doldrums over the summer, and will stay that way for the immediate future, according to one of Britain’s biggest recruiters.

Hays, which recruits for companies in the accountancy and technology sectors, among others, saw a one-fifth drop in its UK fees over the three months to September 30.

Chief executive Dirk Hahn said the trading reflected “tough market conditions, particularly the longer time to hire and low levels of confidence which we expect to continue”.

The poor results come amid a global pullback in hiring, which has already pushed Hays to trim its 11,000-strong army of consultants by about a quarter over the last 18 months.

On Friday, it said it has cut headcount by a further 2%. The company has shut or merged 17 offices worldwide in the last year, including 12 between April and June.

Fees were also significantly down in Germany and Australia, where Hays has significant workforces, adding up to a 14% like-for-like fee reduction across the group.

The company said it was doing stronger business hiring for temporary jobs, pointing to increased caution among employers across its client base.

Fees from hiring for temporary jobs were only down 16% in the UK, versus 26% for permanent jobs.

Hiring activity remained “subdued but sequentially stable” in the private sector, versus a modest quarterly reduction in the public sector, the company added.

In August, Hays said it was slashing costs by around another £30 million after seeing annual profits almost wiped out for the year.

Shares in the group nudged up 1.9% on Friday morning, but remained 20% down for the year.