- Recruitment firm warns challenging market conditions to persist into fiscal 2026
Recruitment group Hays implemented job cuts across its operations in the UK and Ireland over the last few months as the jobs market has proved challenging.
The FTSE 250 group told investors on Wednesday its consultant headcount across the UK and Ireland was reduced by 11 per cent in the quarter and by 20 per cent year-on-year.
A spokesperson for Hays told This is Money that the fall in its UK recruiter numbers was ‘a mixture of natural attrition and headcount reduction.’
The group said it expects challenging market conditions for recruitment to persist into fiscal 2026, echoing industry concerns about a worsening job market driven by Europe’s economic struggles and an escalating global trade war.
Hays said it was ‘not satisfied with our first half performance and have taken action over the last six months to improve consultant net fee productivity’.
Net fees in the UK and Ireland fell 13 per cent with temporary and contracting and permanent fee revenue down 11 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.
Consultant net fee productivity in the region increased by 8 per cent year-on-year in its third quarter.
Job cuts: Recruitment group Hays implemented job cuts across its operations in the UK and Ireland over the last few months
It said: ‘Through these focussed actions to improve productivity and reduce cost, we expect an improved profit performance from the UK&I in the second half.’
Across the UK and Ireland, Accountancy & Finance and Technology net fees fell by 17 and 19 per cent respectively.
Construction and Property decreased by 7 per cent, but delivered ‘a modest sequential improvement through the quarter’, Hays said.
Enterprise performed well with net fees up 8 per cent.
Hays added: ‘Most regions traded broadly in line with the overall UK&I division, apart from Northern Ireland, down 19 per cent, and the North, down 24 per cent. Our largest region of London decreased by 7 per cent, and Ireland decreased by 24 per cent.’
Globally, the group’s net fees fell 9 per cent year-on-year, with fees from temporary and contracting and permanent roles down 6 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.
Chief executive, Dirk Hahn, said: ‘Despite ongoing and increasing macroeconomic uncertainty and challenging Perm conditions, trading was sequentially stable through the quarter.
‘In line with our focussed strategy to build a structurally more profitable, resilient and growing business we were pleased to deliver 10 per cent net fee growth with large Enterprise clients and good Temp & Contracting net fee growth in several of our Focus countries.
‘Our initiatives to improve net fee productivity in real terms and back-office efficiency are important drivers of profit recovery.
‘We delivered 5 per cent YoY consultant fee productivity growth in Q3, which remains sector leading, and our structural cost savings initiatives are progressing well, including in the UK&I where we expect an improved profit performance in H2.
‘We are structurally improving Hays and I remain confident that we will benefit materially when markets recover.’
Hays shares edged up 0.1 per cent to 69.95p on Tuesday, having fallen over 20 per cent in the last year.
On Tuesday, Robert Walters revealed its net fee income fell by 16 per cent at constant currency levels to £67.3million in the first quarter.
Income plunged 22 per cent to £21.9million following double-digit percentage drops in Spain, Germany and France, it added.
Toby Fowlston, the boss of Robert Walters, told investors on Tuesday that tariffs will likely impact client and candidate confidence in the short term and were restricting his firm’s ‘visibility on the outlook for the balance of the year’.
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