Recruitment Agencies (Permanent)

UK Market Overview 2007-2008 - Eighth Edition

Publication Date	January 2008
Publisher	Key Note
Product Type	Report
Pages	82
ISBN Number	978-1-84729-242-1
Product Code	KEY00084

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Summary

This Key Note Market Report discusses the market for recruitment companies and employment agencies that operate in the permanent - as opposed to the temporary and contract - employment category. It includes firms that are engaged in general permanent appointments and executive permanent appointments.

The market appears to be strengthening month by month and the value of the market, in the year ending March 2007, was 3.51bn, an increase of 7% on the previous year. Moreover, in 2007, there were 787,280 placements, in comparison with 519,761 in 2002, a strong indication of how far the market has progressed in the previous 5 years. Growth in 2007 has been extremely buoyant. An increasing number of employers - who might once have considered hiring some contract staff for a year - are now switching to offering candidates permanent employment, responding to the danger of not being able to find the right staff when a contract comes to an end.

The market for recruitment companies and employment agencies that operate in the permanent employment category can be split into 11 economic and professional sectors. These are: computing/IT; construction; drivers; education; financial; hotel/catering; industrial/blue collar; nursing/ other medical; professional/managerial; secretarial/clerical; and technical/ engineering.

The biggest concern for recruitment agencies is candidate supply. Recent research by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) showed that retention of staff within the industry is another problem. The most difficult positions for recruitment agencies to fill are found in almost any job that has a technical or financial aspect to it, e.g. jobs in IT, engineering, pharmaceuticals, energy, aerospace, banking and insurance. Meanwhile, in many large organisations the human resources (HR) function is being reorganised and sometimes outsourced. This presents new challenges for the recruitment sector. The Internet is becoming ever more popular, not just among the young or IT-literate people. In addition, more senior executives are searching for their next job online.

The market is likely to experience considerable change over the next few years; not only will there be more restructuring, resulting from mergers and globalisation, but the nature of the industry and its processes will also change. A report by the think tank Demos, commissioned by the REC, makes the point that 'the traditional divide between extremely personalised recruitment for highly skilled jobs and relatively standardised recruitment processes for low skilled jobs looks set to close in the coming years. The REC itself is likely to be an agent for change - as it seeks to drive up standards in the industry, and lobbies the Government to initiate changes, the labour market will be enhanced as a whole.

Content

Executive Summary
1. Market Definition
REPORT COVERAGE
MARKET SECTORS
MARKET TRENDS
- A Very Strong Market
- Shortages Remain a Key Issue
- A Candidates' Market
- Increase in Counter Offers
- Increase in The Number of Recruitment Firms
- Growing Importance of The Internet
ECONOMIC TRENDS
- Population
- Table 1: UK Resident Population Estimates by Sex (000), Mid-Years 2002-2006
- Gross Domestic Product
- Table 2: UK Gross Domestic Product at Current and
- Annual Chain-Linked Prices (Gm), 2002-2006
- Inflation
- Table 3: UK Rate of Inflation (%), 2002-2006
- Unemployment
- Table 4: Actual Number of Unemployed Persons in The UK (Million), 2002-2006
MARKET POSITION
- Table 5: The Permanent Staff Recruitment Market within The Overall Recruitment
- Market by Turnover (Gbn and %), Years Ending March 2003-2007
2. Market Size
THE TOTAL MARKET by Value
- Table 6: The Total UK Permanent Staff Recruitment Market
- by Turnover (Gbn), Years Ending March 2003-2007
- Figure 1: The Total UK Permanent Staff Recruitment Market
- by Turnover (Gbn), Years Ending March 2003-2007
- by Volume
- Table 7: Number of Permanent Staff Placements, Years Ending March 2003-2007
BY MARKET SECTOR
- Recruitment Agencies (Permanent) Contents
- Computing/IT
- Construction
- Drivers
- Education
- Financial
- Hotel/Catering
- Industrial/Blue Collar
- Nursing/Other Medical
- Professional/Managerial
- Secretarial/Clerical
- Technical/Engineering
- Recruitment to Recruitment
3. Industry Background
RECENT HISTORY
NUMBER OF COMPANIES
- Table 8: Number of UK VAT-Based Enterprises Engaged in Labour Recruitment
- and The Provision of Personnel by Turnover Sizeband, 2004-2007
EMPLOYMENT
- Table 9: Number of UK VAT-Based Enterprises Engaged in Labour Recruitment
- and The Provision of Personnel by Employment Sizeband, 2004-2007
REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN THE MARKETPLACE
HOW ROBUST IS THE MARKET?
LEGISLATION
- Anti-Discrimination Legislation
- Data-Protection Legislation
KEY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
- Recruitment & Employment Confederation
- Association of Technology Staffing Companies
- Association of Executive Search Consultants
4. Competitor Analysis
THE MARKETPLACE
- General Permanent Recruitment
- Executive Recruitment
MARKET LEADERS
- Table 10: Selected Leading UK Recruitment Companies in The Permanent
- Recruitment Market by Total Turnover (Gm), 2005/2006
- Adecco Holdings (UK) Ltd
- Alexander Mann Group Ltd
- Carlisle Group PLC
- Hudson Global Resources Ltd
- James Reed & Partners PLC
- Matchtech Group PLC
- Recruitment Agencies (Permanent) Contents
- Michael Page International PLC
- Modis Professional Services Group International PLC
- Morson Group PLC
- Robert Walters PLC
- SThree PLC
MAIN MEDIA ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE
5. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
- STRENGTHS
- WEAKNESSES
- OPPORTUNITIES
- THREATS
6. Buying Behaviour
- REASONS FOR USING RECRUITMENT AGENCIES
7. Current Issues
- MARKET CONDITIONS
- EXECUTIVE SEARCH
- CORPORATE ACTIVITY
- RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION TRENDS
- CHANGES IN HR STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
- TO OUTSOURCE OR NOT?
- ONLINE RECRUITMENT
8. The Global Market
- THE LARGEST MARKETS X THE US AND THE UK
- Table 11: The World's Five Largest Recruitment Markets by Value ($Bn), 2005-2007
- THE UK BRAIN DRAIN
- Table 12: The Top Three Executive Search Firms Worldwide by Revenue ($m), 2006
9. Forecasts
INTRODUCTION
- The Economy
- Table 13: UK Economic Forecasts (000, % and Million), 2007-2011
- FORECASTS 2008-2011
- Table 14: The Forecast UK Permanent Staff Recruitment Market by Value (Gbn),
- Years Ending March 2008-2012
MARKET GROWTH
- Recruitment Agencies (Permanent) Contents
- Figure 2: Growth in The Total UK Permanent Staff Recruitment Market by Value (Gbn), Years Ending March 2003-2012
FUTURE TRENDS
10. Company Profiles
- Alexander Mann Group Ltd
- Hudson Global Resources Ltd
- Matchtech Group PLC
- Michael Page International PLC
- Morson Group PLC
- Robert Walters PLC
- SThree PLC
11. Further Sources
- Associations
- Government Publications
- Other Sources
- Bisnode Sources
- Key Note Research
- The Key Note Range of Reports