International recruiter Hays reported a 43% drop in profits to £151m for the 12 months to the end of June as net fees plunged by 18%. However, the company says the UK jobs market is stabilising. Permanent jobs took the biggest hit with fees down 29%, with the temporary market recording a 7% fall. Hays says it has continued to take action to address the falls in demand. Alistair Cox (left), Hays’ chief executive, said: “The recruitment markets in the past year have been the most challenging on record. However, Hays has performed creditably due to our scale, the strength of our market positions, our early action to address the cost base and our ability to redirect resources to more resilient sectors such as education, healthcare, oil & gas and pharmaceutical.”