A STRONG performance in Northern Ireland has helped make a major contribution towards half-year results for Hays Recruitment.
Construction and property, IT and accountancy and finance sectors fared particularly well, with the company reporting a 16 per cent like-for-like growth in net fees in its operations across Belfast, Derry and Portadown.
It's the sixth successive year of growth in Northern Ireland and has led to immediate staff recruitment, with plans in place to create 10 new jobs.
The results were for the period to December, with Hays in Northern Ireland part of the FTSE 250-listed specialist recruitment group with a global reach across 33 countries.
Hays' first-half global operating profits increased to £100 million, driven by exchange rate benefits and international profit growth.
The firm's regional managing director in Northern Ireland John Moore said: "These results reflect a strong trading period for Hays.
"Overall, 2016 was a good year for Northern Ireland businesses and our clients remain very positive about their recruitment ambitions for 2017. Business sentiment remains high, the economy continues to improve and SMEs are again looking to expand."
Recruitment activity levels were strong across all sectors, he said, but had been particularly good across construction and property, IT and accountancy and finance.
"There are a number of contributing factors to this, including the resurgence of the residential construction sector with construction activity continuing to pick up," Mr Moore added.
"Belfast continues to be a destination of choice for many software development and cyber security businesses, while plans like the Belfast Agenda are instilling even more confidence that job creation will continue.
"This is our sixth successive year of growth in Northern Ireland and plans are already in place to bring an additional ten people into our business to manage the demands in our specialist markets."
