Recruiter Gattaca has reported its income from permanent jobs in the first half of 2024 is expected to slide by 38 per cent compared to last year, due to a fragile jobs market.
Post-tax and expenses, the group expects income of £18.9m for the first six months of its 2024 financial year, a drop of 16 per cent from 2023.
Job placements have continued to show weakness since the turn of the year, the company said on Thursday.
Gattaca has also been impacted by the recent exit of a large customer who used its services for permanent job recruitment, which it has previously announced.
In the first half of the year, the employment agency saw a “marginal reduction” in sales headcount, with the number of sales staff slightly falling from 315 at the end of last year to 312 during the first half of this year.
It is focusing its hiring efforts on specific sectors where it sees growth opportunities, such as energy, defence, and Gattaca Projects.
London-listed Gattaca is anticipating a shift in the types of jobs it will focus on, with 76 per cent of income to come from contract jobs and 24 per cent from permanent jobs. It previously saw 68 per cent of income from contract positions and 32 per cent from permanent placements.
The company said it had seen a 38 per cent decline in fee income from permanent placements during the period.
Matthew Wragg, chief executive, said: “Recognising that trading conditions are expected to remain challenging, we plan to keep tight control on operating costs including headcount during H2, whilst we are mindful to ensure we are well placed to build market share in our chosen sectors as the economy recovers.”
It comes as the UK is the only G7 nation where employment is still below pre-pandemic levels, largely due to long term illness.
According to figures released earlier this week, 9.3m people aged between 16-64 were economically inactive in the final three months of last year, representing nearly 22 per cent of the population.