THE HAGUE - Randstad is noticing a trend in companies being reluctant to hire personnel due to economic struggles. The Dutch temporary employment group saw their income dwindle strongly last year, and their profits dropped by a third. The amount of people who work for Randstad has also dropped sharply. 

"The global macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, and this influences the decision-making of customers and talent," CEO Sander van 't Noordende said at the presentation of the annual figures. "That said, labor markets remain tight," he added. 

He sees "some positives." Randstad has noticed that companies in specific sectors are preparing for better market circumstances while inflation decreases slowly. But the image will not be changed any time soon. The situation in January of this year was similar to that in December. 

The yearly turnover decreased by about eight percent to over 25 billion euros. Turnover was significantly lower in North America, where several large companies have announced significant layoffs. Adjusted for exchange rates and takeovers, among other things, there was a minus of 13 percent. In the Netherlands, income fell by 9 percent. 

In the end, Randstad had a 624 million euro net profit. A year earlier, that number was 929 million euros. Van't Noordende says that Randstad did succeed in adapting to "challenging" market circumstances. He claims that the margins are still good. 

Randstad strives to respond well to market demand with the size of its own workforce. The employment group was responsible for 41,720 full-time jobs in the last quarter, which is around a tenth less than the year before. Van 't Noordende emphasized that the company mainly arranged job losses through natural attrition. According to him, there were no significant reorganizations. 

The fact that employment at Randstad has fallen is also because 2022, with which the figures are compared, was an "exceptional year" for the company. Randstad was still growing rapidly at that time despite the tight labor market. 

The CEO thinks it is too early to say if more jobs will disappear. According to Van't Noordende, the company will continue to look at possible cost reductions, for example, at the headquarters in the countries where the company is active. The company's headquarters in the Netherlands is in Diemen.