Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd. reported revenue rose 22.0% in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31. The Tokyo-based firm, which ranks as the fourth-largest global staffing firm, reported economic activity continued to improve and hiring demand increased in the US, Europe and Japan.

Revenue in Recruit’s HR technology segment — which includes Indeed and Glassdoor — rose 81.3% on a US-dollar basis. Recruit noted elevated hiring activity globally led to higher demand.

“The relatively limited supply of job seekers looking for work combined with significant hiring demand continued to create competition for talent on Indeed and Glassdoor,” Junichi Arai, executive officer of the corporate planning division of Recruit, said in a conference call with analysts.

HR technology revenue from the US rose 78.9%; revenue from outside the US rose 88.3%.

Meanwhile global staffing revenue was up 13.0%, or 9.1% excluding the impact of exchange rates.

“Revenue in Europe, US and Australia increased by 16.2%, or 9.1% excluding the positive impact of foreign exchange rate movements, mainly due to increased demand for temporary staff as businesses continued to seek flexible labor to reopen and expand in an uncertain environment,” Arai said.

Revenue by segment

Staffing revenue in Europe, the US and Australia rose 16.2% year over year mainly due to increased demand for temporary staff.

“Along with continued demand for logistics roles to support e-commerce, revenue growth was supported by temporary demand for healthcare roles to support Covid-19 mitigation efforts, particularly in Europe, as new variants emerged,” according to the company.

Japanese staffing revenue rose 9.1%.

Guidance

Recruit forecast revenue for the full 2021 fiscal year will be up between 19.0% and 23.4%.

Revenue in the company’s HR technology segment should be at the upper end of guidance for the second half of the current fiscal year in a range of 60% to 70% on a US dollar basis.

Staffing revenue should be up 5% year over year in the company’s European, US and Australian business.

Revenue in Recruit’s media and solutions segment — which includes nonstaffing publishing revenue — is forecast to rise 17% to 22% for the HR solutions business line in the second half of the fiscal year.

Share price and market cap

Shares in Recruit closed down 1.81% today in Tokyo to JPY 5,764 (US$49.89); shares were 21.17% above their 52-week low, according to FT.com. The company had a market cap of JPY 9.96 trillion (US$86.20 billion).