Another recruiter feeling the heat: Robert Walters slashes jobs as fees slump

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The recruitment industry has struggled with a slowdown in hiring among UK employers.
The recruitment industry has struggled with a slowdown in hiring among UK employers.

The net fee income of Robert Walters dropped 21 per cent in the first quarter of the year, as yet another recruiter has been burned by a slowing job market.

The firm revealed today that it had cut its headcount by 13 per cent since last year to 3,812 in a quarterly trading update for the first three months of 2024.

While the UK is only 16 per cent of Robert Walters’ market, it saw fees drop by 20 per cent, or by 27 per cent when excluding outsourcing.

However, the group noted that fee income grew sequentially in London for the first time in five quarters.

Fees for permanent positions globally dropped by 17 per cent, compared to a temporary position drop of 10 per cent.

Outsourcing had a particularly tough quarter, with fees dropping 22 per cent due to lower volumes, particularly from financial services clients.

Fees in the Robert Walters’ largest market, Asia Pacific, fell from £43.4m to £32.9m, a 24 per cent decline, mainly due to declines in Australia and New Zealand, with China actually seeing growth throughout the quarter.

Meanwhile, revenue in the European market fell 16 per cent, with France especially hit hard, while the rest of the world fell 21 per cent.

However, Robert Walters was keen to point out that the comparison was against a strong prior competitive year, with “trading conditions across the majority of the group’s markets remaining consistent with those seen at the end of 2023″.

Toby Fowlston, chief executive of the firm, said: “Although certain macro-economic indicators, such as inflation, continue to moderate in some markets, 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.

“Given the current environment, we will continue to maintain tight cost discipline and we remain focused on initiatives to strengthen our business, ensuring we are optimally placed to take advantage as trading conditions improve.”