Online job ad revenue shrinks and other news of the job board industry

Yes, you read that right: online job ad revenue shrinks, at least according to a new report. Not the way I usually like to start the news roundup – and you’ll see that plenty of sites are showing revenue growth as well as losses. So let’s get into it:

• Online job ad revenue shrinks: The global market for online job ads fell 5% to $34.4 billion in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to a new report by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA). It was the first year the market posted a decrease since SIA began tracking it in 2015. Still, online job advertising revenue grew 151% between 2015 and 2023, according to the report. In comparison, the staffing industry had grown 31%. The online job advertising market is dominated by Microsoft (LinkedIn) and Recruit Holdings (Indeed), which together had a 47% share of the market in 2023. However, SIA identified 32 companies earning at least $100 million in online job advertising revenue in 2023. Hmm.
• Geechs-Job revenue grows: Freelance marketplace Geechs-Job.com emerged as the star performer for Japan-based parent company Geechs Inc. after delivering strong growth in sales and operating profit during the three months to March (Q4 FY2024). Established in 2007 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Geechs’ main service is connecting IT freelancers with local companies and remote projects through its marketplace. Established in 2007 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Geechs’ main service is connecting IT freelancers with local companies and remote projects through its marketplace. Nice.
• SeekOut lays off staff: SeekOut, an eight-year-old recruiting startup that uses AI to find candidates, cut about 30% of its workforce of 200 recently. “Lately, we have been spending roughly $2 to earn $1, and this last fiscal year, we incurred significant cash burn,” SeekOut’s CEO Anoop Gupta and CTO Aravind Bala wrote in a letter to employees. SeekOut was last valued at over $1.2 billion in January 2022, when it raised a $115 million in a Series C round led by Tiger Global. At that time, the company’s revenue was growing 300% a year and its annual recurring revenue (ARR) ranged between $25 million and $50 million. Hmm.
• Indeed’s layoffs may spawn lawsuit:  An attorney said Indeed employees who were laid off this week may have a lawsuit. The CEO of Indeed announced a layoff of 1,000 people, some in Austin. “It seems like the CEO jumped the gun,” Tully Rinckey PLLC managing partner Sean Timmons said. Legislation requires businesses with 100 or more full-time workers to issue a WARN notice 60 days before a plant closure or mass layoff. “I don’t know if Indeed is in compliance with the WARN Act the way they’ve arbitrarily done this, so they’re probably going to face significant litigation,” Timmons said. Could be interesting.
• Colorado law targets AI bias: New Colorado legislation will add protections for consumers from artificial intelligence in a range of areas, including employment, but it has raised concerns. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill, SB205, into law on May 17. The law requires developers of AI to use reasonable care to avoid algorithmic discrimination, though it doesn’t take effect until February 2026. Law firm Seyfarth Shaw noted the Colorado law is the first to be approved when it comes to regulating the use of AI in employment. I suspect we’ll see more of this.
• Pollen Careers raises funds: UK-based Pollen Careers has raised £112,000 in Pre-Seed funding. Pollen’s platform facilitates recruitment by offering entry-level jobseekers personalised support, skills and opportunities before connecting them with recruiters, as opposed to relaying information via a job description and CV. The company claims that the traditional CV process disadvantages those without work experience and prevents employers from being able to hire diversely. Congrats!
• Grupa Pracuj revenue rises: Grupa Pracuj, the parent company of several Eastern European job board brands, reported consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2024 of PLN 196.0 million (€45.9 million), an increase of 5.7% when compared to the same period a year ago. Revenue growth came primarily from higher prices of recruitment projects on the platform Pracuj.pl and the increasing number of customers using services offered in a subscription model in Poland and Germany. On the Polish market, Grupa Pracuj generated revenue growth of 7.7% from 1Q 2023. Revenue in Ukraine grew 25.6%. Interesting.
• Fiverr revenue grows: Fiverr  reported revenue in the first quarter of 2024 of $93.5 million, compared to $88.0 million in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 6.3% year over year. Underlying the business, gross merchandise value — the total value of transactions on its platform — grew 2% year over year for the trailing 12 months, an acceleration from 1% last quarter. The company  forecast second-quarter revenue in the range of $93.5 million to $95.5 million, year-over-year growth of between 5% and 7%. Impressive.
• LiveSense sales and profits grow: Growth in sales and profits at Japan-based LiveSense was driven by its core part-time job site J-Sen.jp (also known as MachBaito) in Q1 2024. MachBaito, which generates revenue from listing and performance fees paid by recruiters, accounted for almost two-thirds of LiveSense’s Y1.6 billion ($10.1 million U.S.) sales in the quarter. Founded in 2006, LiveSense operates multiple recruitment services and provides online interview tools. Congrats!
• Info Edge revenue up: Info Edge India Ltd, the Indian job board, reported standalone revenue from operations for the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2024 of INR 6.08 billion (USD 72.9 million), an increase of 7.9% compared to the same period last year. Info Edge also posted revenue from operations for the full year period of INR 23.80 billion (USD 285.54 million), up 10.3% over the prior year. Billing for the company on a standalone basis for the quarter grew by 10.5% year on year. Impressive.
• DHI revenue down: DHI Group, which owns Dice and ClearanceJobs, reported that total revenue was $36.0 million, down 7% year over year. Total bookings were $48.8 million, also down 9% year over year. Tet loss was $1.5 million, or a negative $0.03 per diluted share, a net loss margin of 3%, compared to net income of $0.5 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, a net income margin of 1%, in the year-ago quarter. Ouch.
• New Work’s revenue dips: Germany-based New Work SE, the parent company of job network Xing and employer rating platform Kununu, saw revenue dip by 10.1% year on year (y-o-y) to €68.2 million ($73.5 million U.S.) during the first three months of 2024. Revenue in the HR solutions and talent access segment fell by 6% y-o-y to €50.4 million, which the company attributed to a decrease in job postings due to the ongoing economic downturn in Germany. New Work CEO Petra von Strombeck said: “We’re in the midst of restructuring the company. Xing is becoming a jobs network, with monetization largely coming from our HR Solutions segment.” Interesting.
• ZipRecruiter revenue down: ZipRecruiter reported first-quarter revenue fell 33.5% to $122.2 million as market conditions remain challenging. Second-quarter guidance calls for revenue to decline by 31% year over year and 4% sequentially at the midpoint of $117 million. It’s the lowest sequential revenue decline the company has seen since the third quarter of 2022. However, the company also noted a 65% year-over-year increase in organic job-seeker traffic growth in the first quarter. Intriguing.
• X Hiring launches job recommendations: X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, is rolling out job recommendations in the U.S. market, a continuation of the X Hiring project that began life in July last year. Recruitment specialists greeted the latest salvo in Musk’s job space foray with skepticism, saying that the product offered recommendations that were not relevant. Others claimed that lack of data on users would doom the offering. I guess we’ll see!
• Randstad buys Torc: Randstad announced that it has acquired Torc, a talent platform for engaging remote software developers. Torc has more than 25,000 workers enrolled worldwide, with an emphasis on Latin America, the US and India. Torc CEO and co-founder Michael Morris and his team will be joining Randstad Digital. Morris is the former CEO of crowdsourcing marketplace Topcoder. Congrats!
• VibeJobs adds recruitment to chat: Bulgaria-based startup VibeJobs has unveiled software that enables users to post and apply for jobs directly in chat app Rakuten Viber. The chatbot initiates a conversation with the user. After they have answered a few questions, it creates a profile of them. This is then used to show them a list of relevant job postings.  Users do not have to browse listings, as they are automatically notified of new job offers tailored to their profile. Very cool!

Well, lots of up and down news, along with the disturbing SIA information about online job ad revenue. I guess it depends on which job board you’re looking at! See you with more news next month.

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