New clients as a percentage of total clients billed by the average recruiter in the RIB Index in Q3 2019 was notably lower than in the same period last year – down from one in three to one in five.

Such a significant change is reflected in other recruitment industry trends – notably the REC’s ‘JobsOutlook’ – that employer confidence in making hiring and investment decisions is at an all-time low. As a consequence, it is likely that fewer firms currently need to appoint new recruitment partners. For the median recruiter, this resulted in an average of 7% fewer clients billed across Q3 2019. While fewer clients does not necessarily result in lower revenues, it does mean recruiters need to intensify efforts to satisfy existing client requirements – which are also likely to be fast evolving due to the current market uncertainty.

Belinda Johnson runs employment research consultancy, Worklab, and is Associate Knowledge & Insight Director of Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB). The RIB Index provides bespoke confidential reports on industry benchmarks and trends. www.ribindex.com