The hiring market \u201cremains challenging\u201d but has not worsened over the summer, boosting the share price of Hays on Friday.<\/p>\n
The biggest recruiter listed on the London stock market said its net fee income fell 8 per cent between July and September on a year earlier, the same decline as in the previous quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still tough, but maybe not quite as bad as it was,\u201d James Hilton, Hays\u2019 finance chief, said. \u201cI\u2019m not saying it\u2019s suddenly getting better, but at least I feel that it\u2019s not getting any worse right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a string of profit warnings across the sector, Hays\u2019s \u201cas expected\u201d update was warmly received by the stock market, sending its shares, which hit 14-year lows a couple of weeks ago, up 3\u00bcp, or 5.5 per cent, to 60\u00bep.<\/p>\n
Hays is based in London but has offices in 31 countries. It is known for being Britain\u2019s biggest recruiter of qualified accountants, although its largest specialism is technology.<\/p>\n
After a record-breaking couple of years coming out of the pandemic, when recruiters were making more money than before, the hiring market has been in a downturn<\/a> for almost three years. Hays has not reported year-on-year growth in its fee income since the first quarter of 2023.<\/p>\n Trade wars and real wars, high interest rates and higher inflation plus a raft of general elections have sapped the confidence of companies and workers. Businesses wary of the uncertain backdrop have delayed their hiring plans, or even canned them entirely, while workers are reluctant to move for fear of being last in and first out.<\/p>\n \u2022 I\u2019d rather be rejected by a human, say graduates who can\u2019t find a job<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBusinesses are still being incredibly selective about replacement hiring,\u201d Hilton, 47, said. \u201cThe majority aren\u2019t expanding headcount \u2014 probably the opposite. Businesses are figuring out what artificial intelligence means for them, and what sort of efficiencies and automation they can get from that.\u201d<\/p>\n It is a global phenomenon: between July and September, Hays\u2019s net fee income fell, once again, in all its geographies, from the US to Europe to Australia. Hays\u2019s French business in particular has suffered given the political chaos across the Channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those companies that are still hiring have generally been bringing people in on fixed-term contracts and that trend persisted over summer. While Hays\u2019s contracting business was down 5 per cent year on year, permanent hires were down 13 per cent.<\/p>\n In response to the continued weak trading, Hays, as with the rest of its peers, has dramatically reduced its headcount. It employs about 9,200 people around the world, down from a peak of about 13,400 two years ago, having axed another 4 per cent of roles over summer.<\/p>\n