Slowing finance and tech hiring leaves mark on recruiter’s balance sheet
An unhealthy hiring market has seen UK revenue dip over the summer at recruiter Robert Walters, in a sign that the UK job market may be headed for more negative numbers.
The firm told markets this morning that whilst legal recruitment had remained resilient, there were slides in both tech and financial services.
UK fee income fell by 13 per cent in the third quarter, to the end of September, compared to a record year last year.
The firm reported overall, global group profit of £93.4m for the three months, compared to £112m in the same period last year. Some 84 per cent of the firm’s revenues are made overseas.
Analysts had predicted the results would be “informative” of the wider UK market as economic uncertainty has impacted the jobs market and caused employers to become more cautious of hiring.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said recent surveys have highlighted the reluctancy among employers for hiring “as economic growth stumbles.”
The unemployment rate in the UK has risen 0.5 per cent since the previous quarter, now sitting at 4.3 per cent.
Toby Fowlston, chief executive of Robert Walters, said: “Hiring activity levels remained largely stable quarter-on-quarter with contract and interim recruitment outperforming permanent recruitment as organisations focused on shorter-term solutions to meet their hiring needs.
“The Group’s strategic core remains strong, and we are focused on consultant productivity, cost discipline and long-term investments in our people and global infrastructure. The Group is well positioned to swiftly capture opportunities when there is an upturn in market confidence and our expectations for the full year remain unchanged.”