Michael Page, the recruitment company often seen as a bellwether for the jobs market, said yesterday that its profits for the three months to March 31 were down 32 per cent against the same period last year.

In the UK, which accounts for about 30 per cent of the business, profits fell by 38.7 per cent. A seasonal increase in business in March failed to stop the company's performance faltering.

Marketing, sales and retail jobs were particularly badly hit in the UK, with profits down by 48 per cent. The decline in the City jobs market also affected business, with finance and accounting profits down by 37 per cent and legal, technical and secretarial down by 42 per cent.

More than 800 employees at Michael Page - or 16 per cent of staff - lost their jobs during the quarter, bringing the total headcount to 4,134 people.

Steve Ingham, its chief executive, said: “Market conditions continued to weaken during the first quarter of 2009, with the impact of the financial crisis now evident in virtually every market and discipline in which we operate, albeit to varying degrees.”

Shares in the company fell by more than 20 per cent on September 16 last year after Adecco, its Swiss rival, scrapped its £1.3 billion bid for the company.

Adecco, which first approached the British company in May, said that although it still had ambitions to expand, the response from Michael Page indicated that a deal was not possible on satisfactory terms.

There was more gloomy news on jobs as the demand for permanent placements fell for the twelfth month in a row.

Although the pace of decline eased slightly, recovery might take longer than many hope, said Mike Stevens, partner at KPMG, which compiles the data with the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. “While some observers might see small upticks in these indicators as green shoots, the reality is that the availability of permanent and temporary jobs in the UK continues to decline,” he said.

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