World – Talent shortages hit record highs, Italy and Spain among most severe

Global talent shortages have almost doubled in the last decade according to new research from ManpowerGroup released ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week.

More than half, or 54%, of companies report skills shortages with businesses in 36 of 44 countries finding it more difficult...

UK – Radio presenter wins settlement from BBC for unequal pay (The Guardian)

UK radio presenter Sarah Montague has won a £400,000 settlement and an apology from the BBC after being treated “unequally” by it for many years, reports The Guardian. Montague, who previously presented BBC Radio 4’s Today program alongside veteran journalist John Humphrys, said the deal came...

World – Hays gross profit down 4% in like-for-like basis, Germany and UK report weakness

International staffing provider Hays plc (HAS:LSE) reported net fees, or gross profit, fell 7% year over year in its fiscal second quarter ended 31 December 2019.

On a “like-for-like” basis, which represents organic growth of continuing operations at constant currency, Hays’ gross profit was down...

UK – Hydrogen Group says profits in line with expectations amid headwinds

UK recruitment firm Hydrogen Group (HYDG:LSE), provided a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2019.

As reported in its trading update in November 2019, trading conditions were adversely impacted in the UK by both political uncertainty and the impact of the proposed changes to...

World – The Adecco Group names next CFO

The Adecco Group appointed Coram Williams as the group’s next CFO to succeed Hans Ploos van Amstel, who will leave the company in June 2020.

“Coram is an experienced public company CFO with a strong track record in both operational and financial leadership roles within a complex, multi-national company...

Italy – Average number of temp workers down 2.7% in November

The average number of temporary agency workers in Italy in November 2019 decreased by 2.7% on an annual basis, according to figures from Ebitemp, the bilateral organisation for temporary employment representing employers’ associations and unions.

In October’s the number of temporary agency workers...

People – Kennedy Executive Search, NHS Professionals, Randstad

Belgium-based Kennedy Executive Search appointed Caroline Frisenberg as its new president and Markus Unterberger as VP. Founder Jorg Stegemann and Carl Lens will step down as president and VP, respectively. The new presidency was effective from 1 January 2020. Frisenberg heads Frisenberg J. Associates...

UK – Parity Group provides trading update, expects to be cash-positive in FY 2019

UK-based specialist technology staffing company Parity Group (PTY:LSE) provided an update on trading for the financial year ended 31 December 2019. 

Trading during the second half of 2019 has been as anticipated and expectations for full-year adjusted profit before tax remain unchanged, according...

UK – More than 8,450 new recruitment agencies launched in 2019

The UK saw 8,450 new recruitment agencies launch in 2019, according to recruitment finance and back-office tech provider Sonovate and data from Companies House.

The 2019 figure is an increase of 230% when compared to 2010 when 2,556 were created.

The highest number of agencies registered in 2019 were based...

Scandinavia – Employees in Norway are the most available in their spare time (Finansavisen)

The percentage of employees who are available to their employers via telephone, text message and email is higher in Norway than in other Scandinavian countries, reports Finansavisen, citing data from Randstad. More than half of employees in Norway, or 56%, say they respond immediately to job-related...