That’s according to the Q1 2018 Recruitment Sector Barometer, produced by Alex Arnot (a non-executive adviser to more than 20 recruitment firms) and in association with Recruiter. The survey also shows net 66% of respondents believe their business’ prospects for the coming year are better than for the previous 12 months, while net 65% of respondents expect to grow headcount over the next quarter – back up to the same levels as first three quarters of last year but not back to the Q4 2016 levels.

More than three quarters (76%) of recruiters expect net profit for the next 12 months to exceed net profit for the previous 12 months – reversing a downward trend of the previous four quarters.

The findings also show net 15% of respondent agencies increased fee rates year on year, while net 19% of respondents report time from initial briefing to candidate appointment increasing.

Survey respondents are also more optimistic about expected imminent performance of each sector (temp, contract, perm etc) compared with the responses to this question last quarter. Improved sentiment was witnessed on the same question last year in all areas except temp recruitment – down 24% year-on-year.

With regards to recruiter concerns, debtor days continue to increase marginally, though availability of candidates remains the top challenge (71%), followed by availability of consultants (46%) and then economic uncertainty (44%).

• Comment below on this story. You can also tweet us to tell us your thoughts or share this story with a friend. Our editorial email is [email protected]