The global recruitment firm PageGroup revealed that it had reduced the number of fee earners to 5,370 after cutting 130 jobs during the last three months in 2024.
The company cut its workforce, mainly in the UK and Europe, after the gross profit dropped 12.9%, to PS196.7m, during the fourth quarter last year.
The company stated that although the pay level was still high, the offer made to the applicants in 2022 or at the beginning of 2023 were lower. According to the company, this has led to the “most significant challenge” in converting interviews into accepted offers.
It claimed that clients were becoming more “risk-averse” as budgets for recruitment tightened and they took longer to hire new staff.
Nicholas Kirk, PageGroup’s chief executive, stated: “Market conditions continued to be challenging in Q4; whilst the majority of markets were stable sequentially, we saw a worsening in Europe in particular in our two biggest markets, France, and Germany.”
The US profit of the company, which operates in 40 countries and owns Michael Page and Page Executive has fallen by 15%.
Revenues in the UK dropped by 13.6% during the last quarter of 2024. In Europe and Asia-Pacific they fell by 19.1% and 174%, respectively.
Kirk stated: “We are continuing to review our fee-earner headcount. We are making progress with our strategy by reallocating our resources to the areas of our business where we perceive the most significant structural opportunities over the long term, and ensuring that it is aligned with the activity levels in each of our market.”
The quarter saw a 14% drop in temporary recruitment, and a 13% decline in permanent recruitment.
Kirk stated: “Looking forward, there is a high level of macroeconomic and geopolitical insecurity across most of our markets. This is particularly true for France and Germany.” We have a diversified, adaptable, and experienced business model. Our balance sheet is strong, and we are constantly reviewing our costs.
He said: “Given our Group’s fundamental strength and despite a challenging environment, we have confidence in our ability implement our strategy to drive the long-term profitability for the Group.”
Robert Walters reduced its workforce by over 700 in October last year, blaming the tough economic conditions and a decline in job openings.
