In a mixed trading update, recruiter SThree (STRH) said that pre-tax profits for the year are expected to be slightly above the top end of the range of current market expectations. However, its UK and Ireland segments were hurt by a slowdown in activity in the finance sector, public sector reforms and by Britain's vote to leave the EU. Activity in continental Europe remains strong and the information and communications technology segment recorded 12 per cent growth year-on-year.
"Looking ahead to 2017, global political and macro-economic uncertainties have increased across a number of our key regions," according to the group’s chief executive Gary Elden. Employers in the UK financial services sector became more reluctant to take hiring decisions in the run-up to the EU referendum, and the uncertainty over the likely shape of the UK’s trade agreement with its erstwhile partners in the EU continues to act as a disincentive in the UK labour market. That’s a concern even though 75 per cent of gross profits are generated from markets outside the UK and Ireland.
