ecruiters have reported soaring profits and say some new hires are receiving huge wage rises as companies recruit en-masse and compete for talent after a year of freezes and cuts.
In the latest sign the economy is bouncing back, recruiting giants PageGroup and Robert Walters both gave positive quarterly updates to the City on Wednesday.
In the three months to July, Robert Walters, which specialises in jobs spanning legal, finance, engineering and software, saw group net fee income (the equivalent of gross profit) of £89 million, up 31% on the same period in 2020.
Similarly, FTSE 250 recruiter PageGroup reported net fee income for the quarter of £219.7 million – nearly double that seen in the same period in 2020. June fee incomes were up 11% on 2019 levels.
Walters told the Standard businesses are competing to hire the best talent amid skills shortages in some “hotspot” sectors, including tech – particularly in cybersecurity – and legal.
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