Recruiting giants in the UK saw a dip in first‑quarter fees as European hiring slackened. Hays logged a 7 per cent drop in net fees, the steepest falls coming from Germany, the UK and Ireland. PageGroup saw gross profit slide 4.9 per cent, while Robert Walters fell 2 per cent, largely due to a 16 per cent decline in Europe, for their core business, and it signals a broader economic slowdown today.

Political turbulence in France and Dutch regulation, coupled with a hiring slowdown in Germany, drove the downturn. The war in Iran has heightened uncertainty, prompting executives to curb workforce expansion. Hays’s CFO warned that Germany remains a headwind, noting temporary placements in the automotive sector fell from over 2,000 to roughly 600 in recent years, for the quarter in 2026.

Despite the decline, firms kept year‑end forecasts unchanged. PageGroup CEO Nicholas Kirk warned that Middle East tensions could linger, yet CFO James Hilton said the conflict had not yet crippled business. Hays cut consultants by 3 percent, whereas PageGroup and Robert Walters added 0.5 and 3 percent respectively, reflecting a shift toward fee‑earning roles amid the slowdown for clients seeking flexible staffing solutions.