Global recruitment firm PageGroup has revealed it reduced fee earner headcount to 5,370 by slashing 130 jobs in the final three months of 2024.
The company made the cuts, which consisted mainly of UK and Europe-wide redundancies, as its gross profits dropped by 12.9% to £196.7m in the fourth quarter of last year.
Although pay levels were still strong, the offers made to applicants were not as high as they had been in 2022 and at the start of 2023. As a consequence, the conversion of interviews to accepted offers has become “the most significant area of challenge”, according to the company.
As recruitment budgets tightened, it claimed clients had become more “risk averse” and were taking longer to hire new employees.
Jobs market
UK labour market outlook uncertain post budget
Nicholas Kirk, chief executive of PageGroup, said: “Market conditions remained challenging in Q4 and whilst most markets were sequentially stable, we experienced a further worsening in Europe, particularly in our two largest markets, France and Germany.”
The company, which is operational in around 40 countries and runs Michael Page and Page Executive, said its US profits fell by 15%.
In the UK, revenues dropped by 13.6% in the final quarter of 2024, while in Europe and Asia-Pacific, they plunged by 19.1% and 17.4% respectively.
Kirk said: “We continue to review our fee earner headcount, making progress on our strategy by reallocating resources into the areas of the business where we see the most significant long-term structural opportunities, as well as ensuring it remains aligned to activity levels we are seeing in each of our markets.”
Temporary recruitment has also been impacted, down by 14%, while permanent recruitment dropped by 13% in the quarter.
Kirk said: “Looking ahead, a high degree of macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainty remains across the majority of our markets, notably in France and Germany. However, we have a diversified and adaptable business model, a highly experienced management team, a strong balance sheet and our cost base is under continuous review.”
He added: “Given the Group’s fundamental strengths and despite the challenging environment, we are confident in our ability to implement our strategy, driving the long-term profitability of the Group.”
Last October, Robert Walters also reduced its headcount by more than 700, blaming tough conditions and a drop in job vacancies.
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