No relief for recruiters in 2020

The domestic picture is unsurprising as protracted uncertainty weighed on candidate and client confidence. Robert Walters’ UK net fee income declined by 9 per cent to £98.4m while Page saw a 2 per cent dip to £135m. A potential ‘Boris bounce’ to hiring activity could spur a 2020 recovery. The latest KPMG and Recruitment and Employment Confederation report indicates demand for staff rose at the quickest rate for over a year in February.

Recruiters are developing an increasingly international outlook. Robert Walters sources just over three-quarters of its net fee income from outside the UK, while this figure reached 84 per cent for Page. Trade war tensions and Hong Kong unrest drove a 10 per cent decrease in Page’s net fee income from Greater China, keeping Asia Pacific flat. While Robert Walters saw net fee income drop by double digits in Hong Kong, this was counteracted by growth in Japan where there is strong demand for bilingual professionals.

Looking ahead, Mr Walters says coronavirus is “adding a further layer of uncertainty” to an already unpredictable global recruitment market. His company has warned of a negative impact on full-year profit expectations and Liberum has trimmed its 2020 forecasts. The broker expects adjusted pre-tax profit to fall from £49.5m in 2019 to £42.8m, versus previous expectations of a jump to £50.6m.

Page’s net fee income has already dropped 3 per cent in the first two months of this year, led by a 35 per cent decline in Greater China. March is typically one of its most active months in the region and it expects a “significant” impact from the coronavirus fall out. Downgrading its forecasts, Liberum expects Page’s adjusted pre-tax profit to dip from £144m to £135m in 2020.