Pagegroup slashes more roles as recruiter feels the pain of slow rebound
Recruiter Pagegroup has continued to axe jobs after a difficult first half of the year.
Around 250 jobs have been cut since January, leaving the total headcount at 5,598 – down from a high of just over 7,000 in September 2022.
Profit fell by 12 per cent to £224.4m in the second quarter, down by 18 per cent year on year.
Earnings declined across all geographical regions, but the drop was particularly marked in Asia, where gross profit fell by almost 20 per cent quarter on quarter, to £32.3m.
Shares in the company had already dropped nearly 11 per cent by 8:45am this morning.
“We continued to see challenging market conditions throughout the Group in Q2 and we experienced a softening in activity levels through the quarter, particularly in terms of new jobs registered and number of interviews,” chief executive officer of Pagegroup, Nicholas Kirk, said.
“Permanent recruitment continues to be impacted more than temporary, as clients seek more flexible options and permanent candidates remain reluctant to move jobs,” Kirk said.
The company said that tighter recruitment budgets have led to companies becoming more risk averse to new hires, which has slowed the recruitment process. It added that offers made to candidates have “not [been] as elevated” as they were in 2022 and early 2023.
Pagegroup has downgraded its operating profit forecast to £60m.
Conversion of interviews to accepted offers remains “the most significant challenge” due to subdued client and candidate confidence in a weak macroeconomic environment, the company said.
“While we saw a slower end to the quarter, having taken action to reduce headcount throughout last year, our intention is to broadly hold fee earners at existing levels to ensure we are well placed to take advantage of opportunities as sentiment and confidence improve,” Kirk said.
Pagegroups’s share price has fallen by 2.94 per cent in the last month, and by 12.14 per cent since July 2023.