Page braces for sharp fall in earnings as jobs market continues to slow

Recruiter Page Group has cautioned over a steep drop in annual profits as it said the global pull-back in hiring seen at the end of last year has continued into 2023.
By Greg Wright
Published 17th Apr 2023, 10:15 BST

The firm said trading remained tough across many of its key markets, with steep falls in gross profits across the UK, north America and Asia.

It reported a 9.4 per cent drop in UK gross profits for the first three months of 2023, which comes after a 1.9 per cent decline in the final three months of last year. Gross profits tumbled by 21 per cent in Asia and 14 per cent in north America in the quarter. The firm said it expects operating profit for 2023 to be in line with a company-compiled consensus of £140m, a 29 per cent fall on the record £196.1m notched up in 2022.

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Chief executive Nicholas Kirk said: “The challenging conditions we saw towards the end of 2022 continued into 2023, with lower levels of both candidate and client confidence resulting in delays in decision-making and candidates being more reluctant to accept offers. Reflecting the uncertainty, temporary recruitment outperformed permanent as clients sought more flexible options.”