Adecco predicts little relief for EU jobseekers
ADECCO, the world’s biggest staffing group, said yesterday it expects no improvement in Europe’s job markets until late next year because businesses are reluctant to hire due to uncertainty about the Eurozone debt crisis.
“It is going to be very slow in Europe into the beginning of next year and if something improves it is going to be in the second half but not before that,” chief executive Patrick De Maeseneire said.
Adecco, which reported solid third quarter results yesterday, said revenue declines in the hardest-hit regions of Italy and Spain seemed to be stabilising, suggesting employers had already cut to the bone.
“The fact that revenues are not dropping off like they were in 2009 means that there are a lot of companies that are really stretched to the minimum,” De Maeseneire said.
Adecco’s third-quarter revenues fell five per cent organically to €5.28bn (£3.3bn), compared to a four per cent fall in the second quarter. The company said it saw a further slowdown in sales at the start of the fourth quarter.
In Europe, Adecco’s revenues fell an average of eight per cent in the quarter, the same decline as in the second quarter. The company’s quarterly net profit fell 18 per cent to €118m.