The recruitment market - France (2024)

1.2 A growing global recruitment and human resources market

The graph below shows the strong growth of the global recruitment and human resources market. Between **** and ****, the market grew by **%. The only year in which the market declined was ****, during the Covid-** pandemic. In that year, the market declined by *.*%.

In ****, the global recruitment and human resources market is worth US$***.* billion, and has grown by *.*%.

Size of the global recruitment and human resources market World, **** - ****, In billions of USD Source: ****

Advances in technology (***) are driving growth in this market. These tools enable us to better target profiles for recruitment.

1.3 A growing but polarized French market

Recruitment consulting market

The chart below shows sales for the labor placement agency business (***), but will see a decline in **** with the covid-** crisis. By ****, sales in France will be close to *.* billion euros. It will then surpass its pre-pandemic level. **% of recruitment is carried out by specialized agencies. [***]

Sales of employment agencies France, **** - ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

The recruitment consultancy market is experiencing dynamic growth, with a continuous increase since **** and a growth peak during **** and ****. In **** and ****, the sector is still growing, but at a slower pace (***). [***]

In detail, growth between **** and **** benefited larger recruitment firms more than SMEs and one-man businesses, whose sales, having fallen heavily in ****, are struggling to recover. This discrepancy in treatment between large international consultancies and smaller players is due in particular to the ability of the leaders to raise the prices of their services with their customers, to leverage their experience and capture market share in higher value-added activities. Smaller structures are also the first to fall victim to new entrants and new digital substitution solutions, enabling some companies to re-internalize their recruitment processes.

Growth in the recruitment consulting market France, ****-****, in Source: ****

Job boards market

It's difficult to estimate ...

1.4 A market impacted by covid-19

Less difficult executive recruitment

In ****, the number of executive recruitments fell by **% compared to ****. Against this backdrop, **% of companies felt that their recruitment processes were easier in **** than in **** (***). However, recruitment difficulties are set to rise again in ****, according to an APEC survey.

Percentage of companies considering that their executive recruitments were difficult to carry out

On the recruitment consulting side, the health crisis has had a heavy impact on activity (***).

Changes in recruitment practices

During ****, companies outsourced fewer of their recruitments, and therefore used recruitment intermediaries less often (***).

Share of companies having used an intermediary for at least one of their executive recruitments France, **** - **** Source: APEC In addition, **% of companies have developed the practice of videoconferencing interviews for executive recruitment, in response to the need for social distancing. However, only **% are confident of continuing this practice after the crisis.

2.1 Labor movements and unemployment in France

People looking for work

The graph below shows changes in the unemployment rate in mainland France. Here, the definition of the unemployment rate is based on that of the International Labor Office (***). The unemployment rate, which is the ratio between the number of unemployed and the number of economically active people, is different from the proportion of unemployed, which measures the share of unemployed in the total population.

Unemployment rate France, **** - ****, IN % Source: ****

Over ****, the unemployment rate will rise slightly, but will remain fairly low: *.*% in the last quarter of **** , compared with *.* the previous year. The long-term unemployment rate has remained stable, however, at around *.*% of the French population at the end of ****.

Overall unemployment rate by gender end **** France, **** - Q*, in Source : INSEE The unemployment rate seems fairly balanced between men and women in the population, with slightly more unemployed women between the ages of ** and **, and more unemployed men in the **-** age group.

Unemployment rate by level of qualification and length of time since leaving initial training France, in ****, in Source: ****

The graph clearly shows that the unemployment rate decreases as the level of education increases and the time since graduation lengthens. For those with a ...

2.2 Recruitment processes

In ****, **.** million job vacancies were advertised in France, down slightly on the previous year. According to France Travail, the job market is dominated by so-called "sustainable" hires, with **% of hiring projects in **** involving contracts of more than six months or open-ended contracts, a figure that will fall by ** percentage points in ****, again according to the recruitment agency.

Number of job vacancies advertised France, ****-****, in millions Source: ****

The number of recruitment projects varies considerably from region to region: Île-de-France is the region with the most dynamic job market and the most job offers. New Aquitaine and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes are also very dynamic in the hiring market. Still according to France Travail, the number of establishments planning to hire new employees has dropped slightly from **% in **** to **% in ****. However, these figures vary considerably when considering different company sizes, since * out of ** recruitment projects involve establishments with fewer than ** employees.

Percentage of establishments planning to hire France, in ****, in Source: France Travail Number of recruitment projects by sector of activity France, in ****, in % Source: France Travail Personal services dominate the breakdown of recruitment projects in France with **.*%, reflecting strong demand in this sector, closely followed by business services with **.*% of projects. Other sectors, ...

2.3 The dynamics of executive recruitment in France

Recruitment vectors, search times and processes vary greatly depending on the socio-professional category under consideration. It is therefore relevant to segment the labor market, and this section will focus on trends in executive recruitment in France.

However, managers are much less affected by unemployment than other occupational categories, with only *.*% unemployed in ****, compared to *.*% for the working population as a whole. [***]

Indeed, executive recruitment is booming in France, and is one of the key factors driving the growth of recruitment agencies. Indeed, the number of annual executive recruitments has been growing steadily since **** (***). This brings the level back above that of ****, and Apec estimates that it will continue to grow in ****. In ****, this increase is partly due to the net creation of **,*** new executive positions.

Annual recruitment of managers France, ****-**** Source: ****

Demand by region

The Ile-de-France region alone accounts for more than half of all executive recruitment in France. It is followed by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and PACA regions. These three regions should see recruitment increases of around *% in **** compared to ****.

In ****, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Hauts-de-France and Centre-Val de Loire are expected to suffer the most from executive recruitment, with around -*% fewer recruits than in ****. These declines are due to a ...

3.1. The employment-related activities sector in France

In the case of recruitment agencies, this activity can be classified under two NAF codes:

**.**Z "Activities of employment agencies" **.**Z "Business and other management consultancy services"

Job boards are included in these two NAF codes:

**.**Z "Internet portals **.**Z "Computer programming"

On the other hand, it is of little relevance to study the revenue and number of establishments in Internet portals and computer programming, as these are far too broad a scope for the activities under study. However, to give an order of comparison, we can look at the turnover of the main job boards in France.

Recruitment agencies

Labour placement agencies (***)

The NAF **.**Z category includes, according to the details provided by INSEE[***] :

personnel search, selection, orientation and placement, including executive search and placement activities the activities of psychologists in personnel recruitment activities of actor and extra selection agencies and offices, such as casting agencies activities of online labor placement agencies activities of modeling agencies

The number of establishments registered under this activity code has risen steadily over the past ten years in France, from *** establishments in **** to *** in **** (***). Nevertheless, the number of employees has grown at a slower rate than the number of establishments, illustrating a ...

3.2. The main players in the recruitment market

In general, recruitment begins with the publication of an advertisement, followed by the selection of candidates and interview phases, which may include technical or psychological tests. Some positions are also filled by word-of-mouth. There are several channels through which you can recruit a new employee for your company and advertise. Among the most popular are :

Company websites Job boards (***) Headhunters LinkedIn Alumni associations Recruitment forum Direct in-person recruitment (***)

In general, a company that publishes an advertisement does not limit itself to a single distribution channel, and may even call on outside help.

Typology of players

The recruitment support market, in which recruitment agencies play a key role, is only a sub-segment of the overall recruitment market, whose main players in France are still companies' in-house human resources departments.

Recruitment agencies dominate the recruitment support market, which they share with four other categories of players:

Job boards , whose activity is often limited to the publication and referencing of online job ads. Paid per ad or via a subscription system (***), these sites support very high recruitment volumes, targeting mainly blue-collar, white-collar and middle-management positions; Temporary employment agencies (***). ETTs also support very high volumes of recruitment, targeting mainly blue-collar and middle-management positions; Public employment ...

3.3 New candidate profiles reshape market structure

The emergence of new candidate profiles and new skills is encouraging the emergence and growth of more specialized players.

The example of Teaminside, a firm specializing in digital professions

Teaminside was set up in **** to specialize in digital professions for companies not looking to recruit permanent staff. The firm was thus positioned to offer digital specialists in the form of assignments. In ****, the group joined forces with Aravati, also specialized in digital professions but positioned on permanent recruitment.

The resulting group has *** employees and a portfolio of *** customers. This merger also enabled the group to raise ** million euros in the summer of ****, in particular for the creation of a business unit specicifically dedicated to UX (***) profiles, to understand these candidates and improve Teaminside's attractiveness to them.

The second objective of this fund-raising is to expand into the technical development sector, which the Group plans to achieve through external growth and acquisition (***). The group's stated objective is to achieve sales of €** million by ****. [***]

The example of Uptoo, a firm specializing in sales functions

Founded in ****, Uptoo is the first firm specializing in the recruitment of sales functions, which are critical profiles for companies in ****-****. The firm can recruit for a wide ...

3.4 Digitizing recruitment and the importance of artificial intelligence

In recent years, recruitment has become increasingly digitalized. In fact, by ****, **% of companies that had digitized their hiring processes said they had gained access to more qualified candidate profiles and had been able to engage with them on a personalized basis. Paper-based job offers have become obsolete, with the majority of advertisements now published on specialized sites such as Monster, Indeed and Cadremploi, closely followed by social networks like LinkedIn. For example, a comparison of the number of visits to the Indeed website and the LinkedIn social network shows a marked evolution in French interest in both platforms. The number of visits to Indeed took off at the end of ****, with an upward trend, while LinkedIn benefited from this increase slightly earlier. This increase in the number of visits cannot be linked to the creation of the sites, since Indeed was created in **** and LinkedIn in ****. On the other hand, we need to put into perspective the fact that not all visits to LinkedIn are necessarily job-related, even if the social network is strongly linked to the professional sphere.

number of visits to the Indeed website France, ****-****, in % relative to historical high (***) Source: ****

This upward trend applies to most active ...

4.1. How recruitment agencies work

The challenge for a recruitment agency, when providing services to a client, is to respond as quickly as possible to the client's request, not only to meet the negotiated deadline, but also to be able to allocate its resources to other services. The recruitment process used by recruitment agencies generally consists of * stages [***] :

Preparation: understanding needs, drafting the job offer, choosing the method to be used Candidate search: social networks, advertising in various media, direct approach via CV libraries, relations with universities and schools, database Identification of promising candidates, often via two rounds of interviews (***) Selection: the firm produces a "short-list" (***) and a summary given to the final recruiter, then assists him/her in preparing for interviews Recruitment and possible post-recruitment support

The recruitment process differs greatly between a traditional company and a specialized recruitment firm. For example, recruitment intermediaries are much more likely to check candidates' references and the authenticity of diplomas with former employers and schools than conventional companies.

Industry challenges and priorities

Nevertheless, recruitment agencies and recruitment intermediaries face a number of challenges and a need for renewal. In particular, the impact of covid on the job market and the shortage of talent are the main concerns of ...

4.2. Towards diversification

Two different approaches are mainly used to deliver recruitment support services:

Advertising

The use of advertisements presupposes an exchange between the firm and the customer to define the job description and draft a job offer. The advertisement is then published on job sites (***). It may also be published in the press or professional journals. This practice, common until recently, has been undermined by the advent of new technologies. Today, online sites account for the majority of advertisements, as online publication is less costly and more widely accessible.

In ****, **% of SMEs and **% of SMBs used job boards for at least one of their executive recruitments. **% of SMEs and **% of ETIs used social networks.[***]

Direct approach

This approach is mainly used when recruiting for senior management, executive and board positions. Firms using this approach will identify profiles of interest by cross-referencing various sources of information (***). They will then proactively contact the identified profiles to invite them to take part in the recruitment process.

While recruitment support remains the core business of recruitment agencies, they are now tending to diversify their range of HR services. This trend reflects customers' desire for long-term support, going beyond one-off assistance at the time of recruitment.

Offer ...

4.3. Pricing methods used

In general, recruitment agencies are paid a percentage of the recruit's annual salary. This percentage usually varies between **% and **%. It can be as high as **% if the recruitment is carried out by a prestigious consultancy. This cost covers the entire recruitment process, from the client's needs to the final candidate.

In the case of recruitment with an exclusivity mandate (***), the most common form of invoicing is a deposit when the service is ordered, then a second deposit when a short-list of validated candidates is presented, and finally the balance of the fees when the candidate is recruited. However, other recruitment formulas do exist, such as the success-based recruitment formula, where payment is only made if a recruitment is actually carried out. Also, some firms offer flat-rate pricing, which depends on the client's recruitment volume. [***]

However, the price of services varies considerably depending on the method used. Other factors contributing to the price of services offered by recruitment agencies usually include :

The frequency of relations between the client and the firm; The reputation of the firm; Additional services services offered.

In the assignments corresponding to the deployment of a solution or provision of serviceshR consulting is often invoiced by the day. The ...

4.4 How job boards work and pricing

Job boards are platforms with a dual interface: on the one hand, they enable candidates to consult job offers and quickly apply to them, and on the other, recruiters to post their advertisements and build up a CV library to consult potential candidates. In this way, job boards build up a CV library containing all the profiles of candidates who have entered their details on the platform. They then charge for access to this CV library.

For recruiters, the advantages of using a job board are often cited:

broaden the distribution of job offers. Speed up the recruitment process. Identify profiles relevant to company needs. Detect qualified and rare talent on specialized platforms. Create a CV database in your recruitment software. Strengthen the company's employer brand. Improve natural referencing (***) of job offers.

For recruiters, job boards can be free or paid, generally by subscription.

The basic service of posting job ads can also be accompanied by additional recruitment aids and advisors. For example, Pole Emploi, which allows companies to publish their ads free of charge, also offers "company relations" advisors to help companies optimize their recruitment and contact with candidates. Sites with CV libraries often offer employers a system for matching ...

5.1. Consequences of the Borloo law (2005)

Changes in the regulatory framework are crucial to understanding the dynamics of recruitment agency business.

Following the Borloo law in ****, their sector of activity was opened up to competition from ETTs (***)

Temporary employment agencies can now recruit on both permanent and fixed-term contracts, opening up the placement business to the private sector.

Other advantages have been gained by ETTs. These include, for example, facilitating the use of interim staff when an employee leaves for training, and encouraging the hiring of unemployed people in difficult social situations(***)

5.2 Recruitment subject to fairness laws

For any recruitment action, the selection of a candidate must be based solely on criteria linked to the specific needs of the job in question, or to the professional qualities of the person concerned. From reading the CV to the recruitment decision, selection choices must be objective, factual and comply with anti-discrimination obligations. (***).

The criteria covered by anti-discrimination laws include the following:

origin ; sex ; morals ; sexual orientation ; gender identity age ; marital status or pregnancy; genetic characteristics ; actual or assumed membership or non-membership of a particular ethnic group, nation, alleged race or religion; political opinions, trade union or mutualist activities; religious beliefs; physical appearance ; surname ; place of residence; state of health or disability; particular vulnerability resulting from the economic situation of the person concerned, apparent or known to the person making the decision; loss of autonomy; ability to express oneself in a language other than French

6.1. Segmentation

(***).

Major international players, mainly foreign, well established in France

PageGroup Hays Robert Half International Robert Walters Hudson Global

Small players with an innovative approach

Euromedica(***) Auvial Mosaïk RH Orientation Durable

Competitors in the recruitment support market include :

Headhunters

Korn Ferry, Egon Zehnder International, Spencer Stuart

Smaller players, such as the French firm

Eric Salmon & Partners Alexander Hughes

ETTs developing permanent recruitment support activities

The Adecco Group Randstad Manpower Menway Adéquat Group SIM emploi

Generalist job boards:

Indeed HelloWork (***) Monster

Job boards specialized in certain fields:

Maddyjob (***) Lesjeudis.com (***) Cadremploi (***)

Recent, innovative job boards

Welcome to the Jungle Jobs that make sense How I met your Planet

Professional social networks

LinkedIn Viadeo Wizbii

We have identified the following segmentation of market players:

Source: ****

• PageGroup (Michael Page)
• Hays
• Adecco Group
• Anywhr
• CRIT Groupe
• Ergalis (Actual Groupe)
• Kelly Services France
• ManpowerGroup France
• MeetYourjob
• Proman
• Robert Walters
• Light Consultants
• Skeelz
• Start People
• Supplay
• Synergie
• Talent Management Groupe
• Walters People
• Slash Interim
• Iziwork
• Aladom
• Scutum
• Actual Groupe
• Gojob
• Mistertemp'group
• Brigad
• Hellowork
• La Varappe
• Welcome to the Jungle
• Indeed
• LinkedIn
• Viadeo JDN
• Camo Emploi
• Pixid
• Menway
• Auvial
• Adéquat Groupe
• Adéquat
• Com Revolution (Jobphoning)
• 50in Tech