Asia hiring cushions British recruiters as Europe slump drags on

* Hays posts slower quarterly net fee decline, tracking peers ​Robert Walters ⁠and PageGroup earlier this week

* Geopolitical risks, ​including Middle East tensions, add uncertainty to recruiters' near-term outlook

* Investor patience waning as shares in major recruiters remain under pressure ​over ‌multi-year slump (Rewrites throughout, adds sector context, shares, background, and details)

April 16 (Reuters) - Hiring in ⁠Asia is partially offsetting a prolonged downturn in Europe, say ⁠British recruitment firms, whose fees are ​not falling as much as last year but could be affected if the Iran war leads companies to freeze new hires.

Hays on Thursday reported an 8% drop in net fees for January-March, a 12th-straight ​quarter of ‌declines, as weakness in its biggest market, Germany, outweighed strength in Japan, China, and Hong Kong.

However, the decline in Hays' net fees was slower than in the previous quarter and better than feared, analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies said. Hays' shares rose 4%.

Hays' update broadly ​echoed peers Robert Walters and PageGroup, which earlier this week also reported fee declines but said the ‌pace of deterioration had eased in some markets.

Asia appears to be a bright spot for all three recruiters grappling with weak sentiment in ‌Europe, where businesses are slowing hiring, and candidates remain reluctant to switch jobs.

Still, Hays said the near-term outlook remained challenging.

The quarterly updates from the recruiters come amid rising uncertainty due to ​the Iran war, which is expected to lead to broad cost rises if oil prices remain elevated and therefore dampen ‌business sentiment in the coming months.

Elevated interest rates, weak economic growth and geopolitical uncertainty triggered a slump in hiring over the past three years after a post-pandemic boom, forcing recruiters such as Hays ⁠to cut ⁠costs and shut operations in some markets.

Hays, which has a ‌larger exposure to the temporary and contract hiring market, maintained its profit outlook.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said cost ​discipline and productivity gains were ​helping Hays to cushion earnings, but warned that investor patience appeared ‌to be wearing thin with the prolonged downturn in recruitment markets.

Shares in Hays, PageGroup and Robert Walters have suffered heavy losses in the past few years.

Hays

Robert Walters

PageGroup

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