Revenue at global staffing firm Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd. reported signs of a slowdown in hiring when reporting results for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30. Still, revenue rose 17.3% year over year in constant currency.

“Elevated levels of hiring activity showed signs of moderating in the US and Europe but remained robust year over year,” the company reported.

Recruit’s HR technology segment — which includes Indeed and Glassdoor — continued to lead the company’s other two segments in growth.

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HR technology segment revenue rose 53.9% year over year in the first quarter. Growth eased from the year-over-year increase of 80.4% in the fourth quarter.

President and CEO Hisayuki Idekoba noted job postings on Indeed remain elevated, but growth has stalled or reversed from the highest levels in some geographies.

“In the US in July, we’ve seen hiring slow down and some of the largest percent declines in roles that had experienced tremendous growth during the pandemic, such as in software development and HR,” Idekoba said in a conference call with analysts.

Jobs posted directly on Indeed by employers, mostly small and midsize business, fell year over year for the first time since early in the pandemic, he said.

Revenue by segment

Recruit reported revenue in the HR technology segment — when measured on a US dollar basis — rose 29.9% year over year. Revenue outside the US increased by 46.5%, primarily led by Europe and Canada. The company noted the labor market remained tight and the number of active job seekers rose year over year on both Indeed and Glassdoor.

Turning to the Recruit’s staffing business unit, revenue rose 15.1% year over year in the first quarter. On a constant currency basis, the increase was 9.2%.

Recruit cited continued demand for staffing. Japanese staffing revenue rose 12.4% year over year to 165.1 billion Japanese yen (US$1.21 billion). Meanwhile, staffing revenue in Europe, the US and Australia rose 17.2% to 220.5 billion Japanese yen (US$1.62 billion); the increase in constant currency was 6.8%.

Recruit changed the name of its “media and solutions” business unit to “matching and solutions.” The segment includes the company’s publishing operations. First-quarter revenue in this segment rose 18.8% year over year.

Guidance

Recruit forecast full-year 2022 revenue will be up 14.9% over the previous year. The forecast is unchanged from the company’s earnings announcement on May 16.

Share price and market cap

Shares in Recruit closed down 4.16% to 5,182 Japanese yen (US$39.02) today in Tokyo; they were 39.75% above their 52-week low; according to FT.com. The company had a market cap of 8.40 trillion yen (US$63.25 billion).