Hays and Robert Walters have become the latest recruiters to make further job cuts amid a challenging global employment market.
Hays revealed it reduced staff levels by 5 per cent in the opening three months of 2024, having axed 1,150 positions last year to save money.
Meanwhile, Robert Walters decreased its headcount by 4 per cent to 3,812, meaning it has almost 600 fewer employees than at the end of March 2023.
Redundancies: Hays and Robert Walters have become the latest recruiters to make further job cuts amid a challenging global employment market
Both companies have been impacted by a sharp drop in income from temporary and permanent recruitment, as well as weaker performances across most markets where they operate, including Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.
In the UK and Ireland, Hays saw net fees slump by 16 per cent on a like-for-like basis, driven by a massive plunge in fees from the technology sector.
Following a pandemic-induced surge in hiring, tech firms have undertaken massive redundancies over the past two years as the absence of lockdown restrictions has led to people spending more time outdoors.
They have also axed jobs in response to central banks hiking interest rates to temper inflation, which began shooting up in 2022 owing to travel curbs and surging oil and gas prices.
Analysts expect interest rates in major economies to come down this year, but employers remain cautious given the uncertain economic backdrop.
Toby Fowlston, chief executive of Robert Walters, said: ‘The general environment remains one where client and candidate confidence is at low levels, which we expect to continue to be a headwind to fee income growth in the near term.’
Cutting jobs: Recruiter Hays revealed it reduced staff levels by 5 per cent in the opening three months of 2024, having axed 1,150 positions last year to save money
Hays and Robert Walters’ trading updates come as the Office for National Statistics reported that the UK unemployment rate rose to 4.2 per cent in the three months ending February.
It also follows a day after fellow recruiter PageGroup said it reduced its fee earner headcount by 100 in the first quarter of this year.
PageGroup has slashed more than 1,300 positions since its staff numbers peaked at 7,071 in the third quarter of 2022.
The Surrey-based business saw gross profits fall by 12.8 per cent to £219.7million due to poor trading across Continental Europe and employers taking longer to make permanent hires.
Hays shares were 4.3 per cent down at 43.55p on early Tuesday afternoon, meaning their value has shrunk by around 19 per cent since the year began.
Robert Walters shares slumped even further, by 6.9 per cent to £3.63, making them one of the biggest FTSE All-Share Index’s fallers.
