Recruiter PageGroup flags slowdown as client confidence softens

(Reuters) -Global recruiter PageGroup Plc said on Wednesday it has seen a "slight softening" in employers' confidence across most markets, leading to some jobs being withdrawn and a slowdown in hiring at the end of the third quarter.

British recruiters saw the weakest growth in hiring in more than a year and a half last month, as signs of an economic downturn made workers more wary of changing jobs and businesses more cautious about hiring, a survey showed on Friday.

"Temporary recruitment outperformed permanent, as clients looked for more flexibility in their resourcing and cost base, reflecting the current economic uncertainty," PageGroup Chief Executive Steve Ingham said in a statement.

PageGroup and other recruiters had seen a hiring boom following pandemic lockdowns and have benefited from wage inflation as skills shortages prompted fierce competition for candidates.

PageGroup, which helps hire executives, professionals and clerical staff, said gross profit for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 came in at 270.5 million pounds ($297.6 million), compared with 228.1 million last year.

PageGroup's smaller peers, SThree and Robert Walters, have also seen continued growth in net fees for the same period as employers chase talent in a competitive market.

Weybridge, England-headquartered PageGroup added that it expected annual operating profit to be in line with a company compiled consensus of 204 million pounds.

($1=0.9088 pounds)

(Reporting by Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Clarence Fernandez)