Recruitment firm Robert Walters PLC (LSE:RWA) continued to feel the impact of cracks in the global jobs market in the three months ending 30 September, with net fee income down 17% across all jurisdictions.
Falling client and candidate confidence levels have seen a shift to contract and interim recruitment in the sector, which now represents 33% of Robert Walters’ revenues, up from 30% this time last year.
In the UK, net fee income was down 13% to £15.4 million, though Asia-Pacific fared the poorest of all regions with a 24% dip. Europe was the firm’s saving grace, having fallen by just 3%.
Chief executive Toby Fowlston called the results “resilient despite the ongoing global macroeconomic uncertainties”.
“Hiring activity levels remained largely stable quarter-on-quarter with contract and interim recruitment outperforming permanent recruitment as organisations focused on shorter-term solutions to meet their hiring needs,” said Fowlston.
Despite the mixed results, end-of-period cash reserves remained robust at £65 million. Robert Walters also managed to round off its £10 million share buyback programme.
This week also sees fellow recruitment firms PageGroup PLC (LSE:PAGE) and FTSE 250 constituent Hays PLC (LSE:HAS) reporting their earnings.
The market is paying close attention given their bellwether status for the wider economy.
On Monday, BDO said that businesses were struggling to maintain staffing numbers “amid higher borrowing costs, elevated wage growth and weaker customer demand”.