Sweden – NGS Group net sales up 6% in Q1, but operating profit falls

First-quarter net sales at NGS Group AB (NGS: SS) rose 5.6% from the year-ago quarter. However, the Stockholm, Sweden-based healthcare and education staffing firm reported operating profit fell 23.3%.

UK – Freelancer.com acquires UK-based online staffing firm

Freelancer.com acquired UK-based online staffing platform Freelancers.net in a deal announced Thursday. The acquired firm has more than 70,000 registered users and is primarily focused on the UK. It was founded in 1999.

Freelancer.com CEO Matt Barrie said the deal will enhance his company’s UK footprint,...

Finland – Business group says outlook positive, but recruiting difficulties worsen

Finnish industries reported a generally positive business outlook over the next six months, but recruitment has become a problem, according to a quarterly business outlook survey by the Confederation of Finnish Industries.

“Finnish companies felt that the upward trend continued in the first quarter...

UK – Healthcare sector top category for online vacancies

The number of unique job vacancies posted online in the UK totaled more than 2.4 million in the first quarter, according to analysis by Jobfeed, Textkernel’s big data tool for vacancies. Healthcare was the top job category for the first quarter, accounting for 11% of all job postings available and...

UK – Sports Direct files complaint over investigation of firm and employment agencies (The Guardian)

Sports Direct and its employment agencies, Transline and The Best Connection, were required to repay warehouse workers £1 million in back pay in 2016. Now, a report in The Guardian newspaper said Sports Direct has filed a complaint against Iain Wright, the minister of parliament who led the inquiry...

UK – Empresaria Group CEO steps down, COO takes over role

Empresaria (AIM: EMR), the international specialist staffing group, announced CEO Joost Kreulen will step down and COO Spencer Wreford will take over as CEO of the Group.

Chairman Tony Martin announced the change at the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday. Kreulen was one of the directors retiring by...

UK – Prime People posts trading update, net fee income to be slightly down like-for-like

UK-based recruiter Prime People plc (PRP: AIM) reported Wednesday that it expects to announce operating profit for the year ended 31 March to be £1.2 million after taking account of exceptional acquisition costs of £100,000 relating to the acquisition of the majority interest in Command Recruitment...

Sweden – Hedera Group acquires Addus Care AB

Swedish recruitment firm Hedera Group (HEGR:SS) acquired nurse staffing firm Addus Care AB, from owner Maria Nordin for SEK 10 million (€1.1 million). 

Addus Care was founded in 2015 by Nordin and provides crew nurses with annual turnover of approximately SEK 30 million (€3.4 million). It has...

Europe – Euro area jobless rate falls to 8.5% in March, lowest rate since 2008

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March was 8.5% in the 19-country euro area; that’s down from 9.4% a year ago and the lowest jobless rate since December 2008, Eurostat reported Wednesday.

Countries with the lowest unemployment rates includes the Czech Republic, Malta and Germany. The highest...

UK – High Court rejects union bid to overturn Deliveroo worker rights decision (Reuters)

The High Court rejected an application by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain to review a decision not to allow it to represent food courier Deliveroo’s riders in Camden as it pushes for workers’ rights in the gig economy, Reuters reported. Britain’s Central Arbitration Committee rejected...