By - Sreenivas D Ajankar
Highlights
- The global unemployment levels could remain above the 2019 pre-Covid levels until 2023 as per International Labour Organization.
- In the United Kingdom, the outlook is slightly better as many industries across the country are witnessing a hiring boom amid economic recovery.
According to the new report published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the global unemployment levels could remain above the 2019 pre-Covid levels until 2023 as growth in the job market worldwide is expected to take a longer time to recover mainly due to the adverse impact of the pandemic and multiple lockdowns.
The global labour market now has 27 million fewer jobs with a weak outlook compared to previous projections by the UN agency ILO. One of the primary reasons for deteriorated outlook has been a surge in coronavirus cases, which is hindering the complete economic recovery.
Back in the United Kingdom, the outlook is slightly better as many industries across the country are witnessing a hiring boom. The UK unemployment rate declined to 4.2% from 4.3% in the last quarterly survey, which was in line with market expectations and the lowest rate since June 2020.
The staffing and employment service providers play a crucial role in filling the changing industry demand for the right talent. The current economic recovery and hiring boom across industries go hand-in-hand. Moreover, such scenarios are quite beneficial for hiring service providers, resulting in revenue and profit growth.
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Let us explore two FTSE 250 listed recruitment stocks and their investment prospects:
The recruitment service provider offers temporary and permanent staffing solutions to its clients. It operates its services under different brand names like Michael Page, Page Executive, Page Outsourcing. The company’s business reported excellent growth in just concluded year across all geographical locations.
The full-year gross profit in 2021 was £879.1 million, a rise of 49.3% on a constant currency basis. In the last quarter of 2021, the total gross profit was £246.8 million, which was the record quarter for the group. Looking deeper into the company’s geographical performance, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) market contributed the highest to gross profit with 49% or £432.6 million of total profit. The company’s UK business reported a growth of 15% during the period.
Pagegroup Plc’s current market cap stands at £2,032 million as of 17 January 2022. In the last one year, the stock has given a 40.09% return to its shareholders.
The company operates permanent and temporary recruitment services in the UK and other countries. For the second quarter ended 31 December 2021, the business reported excellent growth, resulting in overall 37% growth in fees collections led by the solid growth in the permanent staffing segment. The company currently has a strong balance sheet and expects robust business performance to continue in 2022.
Hays Plc’s current market cap stands at £2,649 million as of 17 January 2022. In the last one year, the stock has given an 11.10% return to its shareholders.