This is according to the Dutch headquartered company’s results for the first quarter of 2018, released this morning.

Randstad said in a statement that its revenue grew at 7.4% to €5.68bn (£4.97m) boosted by a strong performance in France and Germany. Randstad’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin rose by 3.8% compared to Q1 2017 to an underlying figure of €217m.

By contrast, in North America sales rose by just 1%, dragged down by Monster, which was acquired by Randstad in 2016, and which saw its sales slump by 16% during the quarter. Randstad CEO Jacques van den Broek said the plan was to turn Monster around in 2018.

In the UK, revenue was up by 7% (Q4 2017: up 11%), while perm fees were down by 14% (Q4 2017: down 9%).

“Overall market circumstances remained positive. We continue to outperform in most relevant markets,” said van den Broek.

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