A tightening of the purse strings in the UK’s public sector has hit Q2 revenues at  Randstad, according to a spokesperson for the recruitment giant.

Yesterday Randstad reported increased group revenues of €3.915bn (£3.44bn), up 13%, but in the UK in Q2 revenue rose by just 2% with demand declining further in healthcare and public sector administration.

A Randstad spokesperson told Recruiter: “The biggest problem in the UK is the cost cutting in the public sector. Public sector spend is still declining. Whereas in the Netherlands we are also seeing a decline but it is not declining any further, in the UK it is still coming down.

“We have a large exposure to education and care, and the government in the UK is not spending on those two sectors so that’s a problem. In a lot of other countries we don’t have any or just a small exposure to the public sector. There has also been lower demand in the City for permanent placements.”