Robert Walters hit by budget jitters as employers postpone hiring

Robert Walters has joined rival recruitment firms Hays and PageGroup in reporting weaker quarterly results across all major territories.

The white-collar recruiter, whose eponymous founder retired last year, saw net commission income decline 12 per cent in constant currency to £79.9m in the three months to the end of September.

Net fee income fell 19 per cent to £12.5 million in the UK, which the company attributed to businesses “generally pausing activity pending clarity” on future employment laws and tax measures in the UK. the next government budget in October.

Meanwhile, its revenue fell 12 per cent to £35m in the Asia-Pacific market, partly due to difficult trading conditions in Hong Kong and public sector job cuts in New Zealand.

Recruitment firms have struggled with a slowdown in trade this year as higher interest rates and economic uncertainty have deterred companies from hiring new staff.

PageGroup reported on Monday that its gross profits fell 13.5 percent to £201.4 million in the quarter ending in September, while Hays said last week that its net fees fell 15 percent during the same period.

Both PageGroup and Robert Walters have warned that client and candidate confidence ratings “have not yet shown signs of substantial improvement.”

The latter’s chief executive, Toby Fowlston, said the company still expects trading conditions not to improve until 2025 and that fee income during the second half of this year is “unlikely to exceed” first half levels.

However, he assured investors that an “action program underway” means the group still expects to be profitable throughout the year.

Fowlston added: “As we approach the end of 2024, I am confident that we will close the year with a stronger business than when we started.”

Last week, the UK Government unveiled the Employment Rights Bill, which contains 28 individual reforms designed to improve worker protection.

Proposed measures include abolishing zero-hours contracts, entitlements to one day parental and bereavement leave, and making flexible working the “default” for all workers.

Many business groups worry that the plans will make it more expensive for companies to hire new staff and could worsen the unemployment rate.

A British Chamber of Commerce survey published earlier this month found the proportion of businesses looking for new staff has fallen to 56 per cent, its lowest level in three years.

Robert Walters shares They were steady at 351p on Tuesday morning, meaning they have fallen by around a quarter this year.