Hays says demand continues to weaken

9th Jul 2009 07:03

Recruiter Hays said it has been another tough quarter with demand continuing to weaken in both its temporary and permanent placement businesses.In the quarter ended June 2009, the group saw a reduction in net fees of 37% (40% on a like-for-like basis) versus last year. The difference between the headline and like-for-like growth rate is due to the more favourable Euro and Australian dollar exchange rates. Headcount was reduced by 8% in the period in all regions, taking the overall headcount reduction for the year to 26%.Net fees from the permanent placement business decreased 57% and net fees from temporary placement business decreased 23%. In June, Group net fees were around 42% below the same period last year."Currently, demand continues to weaken in both our temporary and permanentplacement businesses," said the group.In UK & Ireland net fees fell by 45% versus the same period last year as market conditions deteriorated further across the private sector, particularly in the permanent placement market.In Asia Pacific net fees fell 46% and in Continental Europe & RoW it decreased 25%. The group said it has continued to invest selectively in its international network, starting operations in India and Russia."Throughout this year our business has demonstrated that it has the ability to withstand exceptionally difficult economic conditions and still deliver good levels of profitability and strong cash flow performance," said the group.