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Our Markets

Hays is a leading global professional recruitment agency specialising in Temporary, Contracting and Permanent recruitment including to large clients under more complex and structured agreements, such as Managed Service Provision (MSP) and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO).

According to data from Staffing Industry Analysts, on a net fee income basis, the global market size was $220 billion in the 12 months to December 2024. These figures do not include candidates recruited directly by in-house human resources departments which may present a future source of growth in the long term.

The global recruitment market is expected to grow by 8% annually over the next five years to $320 billion and at a mid-teen rate with complex global enterprises through MSP and RPO agreements. Hays currently has a mere 0.5% market share of the global market and a strong competitive position with large clients though our Enterprise Solutions offering.

Hays specialises in the most skill-short white-collar employment areas including Technology, Accountancy & Finance, Engineering, Life Sciences and Construction & Property. The vast majority of the candidates we place earn between £35,000 and £200,000 per annum.

Individual labour markets have their own nuances but we estimate that in aggregate these professional positions account for approximately 60% of net fees generated by the global recruitment industry. The remainder includes suppliers of lower salary blue-collar and clerical positions, and executive search.

The top 21 countries account for 95% of the global professional recruitment market. Hays has a physical presence in 20 of the top 21 of which three are Key countries, eight are Focus countries, and nine are Emerging countries.



 

Organisations increasingly need expert help to find the talent they need

To help secure talent, organisations increasingly need partners such as Hays, who can bring a far broader and deeper pool of talent to them, from a far wider geographic area, much faster.

This applies to larger outsourcing deals with Enterprise clients and transactional ‘spot’ recruitment for SMEs. Importantly, all client groups have increased demands for related workforce solutions.

Jobs are changing and skills are short

Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence are changing almost every industry. Many employers are struggling to find the talent they need, particularly in higher skill, higher salary areas. Our strategy is focused on building the strongest relationships with candidates in the most skill-short markets, such as Technology, Engineering, Life Sciences or the Green Economy.

Growth in flexible, high-skill, non-Permanent careers

Skilled workers are increasingly seeking interesting, and often highly paid, non-Permanent roles as they build ‘portfolio’ freelance careers. This trend is also strongly supported by remote and hybrid working.
We believe higher skill, higher salary Temporary and Contracting represent long-term growth markets, particularly in STEM careers. We use our expert consultants, global network, data and technology to build deep and broad Talent Networks. 

Demographic changes and increased employee demands

Demographic changes and increased employee demands
Rising costs of living globally create greater incentive for skilled employees to change job and increase their earnings. Also, we live in an era of unprecedented access to training, upskilling and development, meaning that the routes for candidates’ career progression are more open than ever. Attitudes towards remote and hybrid careers have materially changed, which can act as a further driver of job churn particularly once economic confidence grows.

Societal demands are changing

For all employers, there is an increasing awareness of the importance of business sustainability, which can be enhanced by addressing ESG in operations and culture. Many employees want to work for a purpose-led organisation which matches their own values, and new job categories are being created or expanded.
Our ability to create equitable and diverse Talent Networks will increasingly be a key competitive advantage, as is our ability to help clients with related talent services such as DE&I consultancy and workforce planning.