Worries about the impact of last year’s Brexit vote on job recruitment in the UK will be a focus on Friday, with FTSE 250-listed staffing firm Hays PLC (LON:HAS) set to issue a pre-close season trading update.
Employers were seen to be reluctant to hire after the UK’s vote to leave the European Union but it seems that since they’ve had time to process the outcome, they have been getting back to business as usual.
Earlier this week, Hays' peer Robert Walters PLC (LON:RWA) told investors it expects profits to beat full-year expectations after a record performance in the second quarter.
READ: Robert Walters surges as it upgrades full-year forecasts after record second quarter performance
The staffing group reported a gross profit of £86.3mln for the three months to June 30, up 16% from the £69.3mln it posted for the same period in 2016.
In a third-quarter trading update in April, Hays reported a 4% drop in third quarter like-for-like net fees in the UK and Ireland but that compared to a 10% decline in the previous quarter.
READ: Hays joins fellow recruiters PageGroup, Robert Walters with improved UK trading despite Brexit
But the group added it saw overall net fees rise by a record 10% on a like-for-like business, boosted by trading in Continental Europe and in the rest of the world division, and with two extra working days as a result of a later Easter this year.
Hays said then that it expects its full year operating profit to reach the top end of market forecasts of £199mln to £209mln.
US inflation eyed
Little other corporate news is due on Friday so attention will switch easily in the afternoon to the latest US inflation numbers.
Analysts at US bank Wells Fargo expect US CPI to have increased by 0.1% in June, in line with market consensus.
In a preview of the data, they said: “Inflation measures have come in below expectations in recent months, and prices declined in May in both the CPI and the PCE deflator.”
The analysts added: “Continued misses from incoming inflation data prompted us to reevaluate our outlook for monetary policy moves through the end of the year.
“We moved our call for the next funds rate hike from September to December, and expect the FOMC to initiate balance sheet reductions in September.”
Significant events expected on Friday July 14:
Trading Statements: Ashmore group PLC (LON:ASHM), Hays PLC (LON:HAS), NewRiver REIT (LON:NRR), Workspace Group plc (LON:WKP)
Economics: US June CPI inflation