Recruiter PageGroup has described the UK jobs market as 'tough but stable' as it continues to slash costs to offset difficult trading conditions. The firm reported a 5.3% drop in UK gross profit for the three months to the end of June, an improvement on the 11.4% decline seen in the previous quarter.
UK Market Shows Signs of Stabilisation
In its UK outlook, PageGroup stated: 'The market remains tough but stable, with pockets of optimism beginning to appear.' Areas such as technology recruiting and its Page Executive offering are among those showing signs of improved trading, the company added.
Group-wide gross profits fell 0.2% on a constant currency basis to £197.6 million in the quarter. However, around half of the group is now seeing growth worldwide, with southern Europe returning to growth.
Cost-Cutting Measures Continue
PageGroup continues to trim costs in response to the challenging jobs market. It cut another 80 fee earners in the second quarter, reducing the total by 1.6% year-on-year to 4,994. Non-fee earner headcount fell by 2.3%. The firm said it remains on track for annual earnings of around £28 million, which would be an improvement on the £20.9 million reported in 2025.
Nicholas Kirk, chief executive of PageGroup, said: 'Whilst we have seen improvement and signs of a normalisation in trading in a number of our markets, there remains a high degree of uncertainty in the outlook for the rest of the year.'
Flexible Cost Base and Strategic Actions
Kirk added: 'We have a flexible cost base through our fee earner headcount, which adjusts naturally to market conditions. Alongside this, we continue to control the cost base tightly and have undertaken various programmes since the launch of our new strategy to manage it in light of the tougher market conditions.'
Actions taken include reducing support staff, closing offices, and cutting management layers, which together have saved around £40 million each year. 'This cost base control has continued in 2026,' Kirk said.
