AGM Statement

11 November 2009


Hays plc: Annual General Meeting statement                  


Hays plc, the leading global specialist recruitment group, will hold its Annual General Meeting today. Bob Lawson, Chairman, will make the following comments to shareholders:

"On 8 October, we issued an Interim Management Statement for the quarter ended 30 September 2009. In that statement we stated that the specialist recruitment markets continued to be very challenging and that net fees in the quarter had declined by 37% (decreasing 40% on a like-for-like basis*) versus the same period last year. We also made the following comments about market conditions and management actions.

We are seeing early signs of stability in the United Kingdom and broader signs of stability in Asia Pacific, although at present no indications of recovery in either market. The Continental Europe markets, which entered into the downturn later than other regions, are still experiencing deteriorating conditions although the rate of decline has moderated. Whilst the indications are that this year will be another tough year for our industry, the downturn presents opportunities for market leading companies like Hays to gain share and we will continue to pursue those opportunities and invest in our business accordingly.

These comments still apply today. We will provide a more detailed trading update for the quarter ending 31 December 2009 on 7 January 2010."

* LFL is like-for-like growth, which represents organic growth of continuing activities at constant currency.


Enquiries

Hays plc                                                                               
Paul Venables        Finance Director             + 44 (0) 20 7383 2266          
James Hilton         Investor Relations           + 44 (0) 20 7383 2266          
                                                                  
Maitland                                                                               
Neil Bennett                                      + 44 (0) 20 7379 5151          
Liz Morley                                                                             
    
                                                                                                                     
Reporting calendar

Trading statement for quarter ending 31 December 2009                  7 January 2010   
Half Year Report for 6 months ending 31 December 2009                  25 February 2010 
Interim management statement for quarter ending 31 March 2010          8 April 2010     
Trading statement for quarter ending 30 June 2010                      8 July 2010