Revenue for companies in the country’s staffing industry fell by 17% in the final quarter of 2024.
By Maggie Mancini
Revenue for companies in Sweden’s staffing, recruitment, and restructuring industry fell by 17% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter in 2023, according to research from Kompetensföretagen, a staffing trade body based in Stockholm. The revenue for the industry’s 35 largest companies amounted to just over SEK 7 billion ($692.4 million) during the final quarter of 2024, SEK 1.4 billion lower than the end of 2023.
Industry and manufacturing accounted for about half of the decline, the report finds, but negative trends were observed across geographic regions, service areas, and professional sectors. Patrik Eidfelt, the firm’s director general, points to weak economic conditions and a 24-month staffing law from Sweden’s Agency Work Act as possible causes of the decline. The staffing law was introduced in 2022 to protect staffing industry workers. Under the law, workers must be offered a permanent position if they have worked for a company for more than 24 months.
At the same time, demand for IT consultants increased by 19% between the third and fourth quarters of 2024, the report finds. The worst-performing sectors included healthcare (down 37.4%) and sales and customer service (down 28.8%).
