Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 16, 2026
3 min readLast updated: April 16, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleHays saw an 8% drop in Q3 net fees, with Germany—its largest market—continuing to underperform amid weak hiring demand. Despite this, the firm expects fiscal 2026 profit to align with analyst consensus and sees resilience in temporary and contracting services over permanent placements.
By Nithyashree R B and Yadarisa Shabong
April 16 (Reuters) - Hiring in Asia is partially offsetting a prolonged downturn in Europe, say British recruitment firms, whose fees are not falling as much as last year but could be affected if the Iran war leads companies to freeze new hires.
Hays on Thursday reported an 8% drop in net fees for January-March, a 12th-straight quarter of declines, as weakness in its biggest market, Germany, outweighed strength in Japan, China, and Hong Kong.
However, the decline in Hays' net fees was slower than in the previous quarter and better than feared, analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies said. Hays' shares rose 4%.
Hays' update broadly echoed peers Robert Walters and PageGroup, which earlier this week also reported fee declines but said the pace of deterioration had eased in some markets.
Asia appears to be a bright spot for all three recruiters grappling with weak sentiment in Europe, where businesses are slowing hiring, and candidates remain reluctant to switch jobs.
Still, Hays said the near-term outlook remained challenging.
The quarterly updates from the recruiters come amid rising uncertainty due to the Iran war, which is expected to lead to broad cost rises if oil prices remain elevated and therefore dampen business sentiment in the coming months.
Elevated interest rates, weak economic growth and geopolitical uncertainty triggered a slump in hiring over the past three years after a post-pandemic boom, forcing recruiters such as Hays to cut costs and shut operations in some markets.
Hays, which has a larger exposure to the temporary and contract hiring market, maintained its profit outlook.
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said cost discipline and productivity gains were helping Hays to cushion earnings, but warned that investor patience appeared to be wearing thin with the prolonged downturn in recruitment markets.
Shares in Hays, PageGroup and Robert Walters have suffered heavy losses in the past few years.
(Reporting by Nithyashree R B and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Susan Fenton)
Hays reported an 8% fall in net fees due to continued weak hiring demand in Germany, its largest market.
Weak business confidence, geopolitical tensions, and uncertainty around artificial intelligence are making employers and candidates cautious.
Hays expects its fiscal 2026 profit to align with market consensus, forecasting pre-exceptional operating profit of 45.2 million pounds.
Hays expects greater resilience in Temp & Contracting compared to the Perm segment amid challenging market conditions.
Germany is Hays’ largest market, and ongoing weak hiring demand there has impacted its financial performance.
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