PageGroup reports that the UK jobs market remains difficult but stable, based on its latest performance update. The recruiter says its UK gross profit falls 5.3% in the second quarter. That figure is described as an improvement compared with the previous three months, when UK gross profit declined more sharply, by 11.4%. Taken together, the company’s commentary indicates that while activity and profitability continue to face pressure, the rate of decline is easing relative to the earlier period. Across the sources, there is no additional breakdown of sectors, hiring volumes, or regional performance. The reporting focuses on the change in gross profit over the two sequential periods, presenting the second-quarter movement as evidence of relative steadiness after a larger drop in the first quarter. The statement therefore characterises conditions as “tough but stable,” linking that view directly to the improved quarter-on-quarter performance trend in UK gross profit rather than to any new external market indicators.