Hays, the UK technology recruiter, shared that recruitment struggles are not going anywhere soon amid lower unemployment levels.

The firm forecasted that its profits from the first half of 2024 would be lower than the six months before, citing economic downwinds affecting the recruitment industry.

Fees were also down, by 14%, in the last three months ending on 30 September.

“Net fees in the quarter were down, as expected, reflecting the tough market conditions, particularly in permanent (hiring)where we see longer time to hire and low levels of confidence which we expect to continue,” Dirk Hahn, CEO of Hays, said.

A mix of lower unemployment and high interest rates have made the hiring market all the more tumultuous, despite tech’s relatively high turnover and the consistent threat of mass layoffs.

Hays has already reduced its headcount by around a fourth as global hiring faces a drop, but the company announced it would layoff around 2% of its remaining workforce.

In conjunction with this reduction was the shut or merger of 17 offices across its global operations.

Back in August, the recruitment firm, which specialises in accounting and tech hiring, aimed to slash costs by around £30 million as its annual profits were almost completely sunk for the year.

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The recruitment firm also revealed some overall changes in the hiring landscape – hiring for temporary jobs was not nearly as impacted as hiring for permanent positions, revealing caution among employers.

Fees from hiring temporary jobs were down by 16% in the UK, ten percent less than the decrease seen for permanent jobs (26%).

While hiring activity remained stable but subdued in the private sector, according to Hays, the public sector saw a modest reduction.

Shares for the company were down 20% for the year, despite a small 1.9% uptick last Friday.