Companies hold off hiring amid uncertainties, says temp firm
LONDON
Kiaraliz Irizarry (L) recruits people for jobs at Triton Recovery during the Mega JobNewsUSA South Florida Job Fair held in the Amerant Bank Arena on April 30, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida.
Adecco, the world's biggest temporary staffing agency, said that companies are holding off on hiring permanent staff in the face of uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war.
The Swiss-based company saw a 10 percent jump in its share price as it said the lack of permanent recruitment was providing momentum in temporary staffing and beat earnings expectations.
It posted a three percent dip in first quarter revenue and a 20 percent drop in net profit, but largely beat analyst expectations, said.
Adecco's chief executive Denis Machuel said that, faced with tariff uncertainty, most of the companies it serves have gone into "a wait and see mode" until the dust settles.
President Donald Trump last month imposed a 10-percent "baseline" tariff on imports from around the world.
He has suspended higher tariffs on dozens of nations while seeking new trade deals, but he left in place levies of 145 percent on China, which retaliated with 125 percent tariffs of its own.
"The only impact we see at the moment is a slowdown on permanent recruitment," Machuel said.
"Because if you don't have visibility you don't necessarily invest in people," he added.
"On the other side, that gives momentum to temp business."
