Headhunters buoyant in southern Europe

European members of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) also said they believed the search business would take a turn for the better in 2003, even though they were pessimistic about general economic conditions.

Spanish and Italian markets proved to be the most successful for executive search this year, outpacing the UK and France which followed a close third and fourth, according to the survey of European AESC members across a number of industries, including financial services.

The results contrast with last year, when executive search figures indicated UK and German markets grew the most.

AESC President Peter Felix said: "The economic uncertainty imported from

the US has not had a consistent impact across all member states of the EU

and has affected the executive search market differently in each country.

Thus while Germany has been in the doldrums, markets such as Spain and Italy

have held up well."

But Alberto Gavazzi, head of financial services recruitment at Russell Reynolds in Milan, said that though the Italian search market had been strong, in the year ahead it could head down the same road as Germany.

'It is right to say the Italian market has been more resilient in 2002, but it is also a nice way of saying the Italian market is slower to react to changes. Italy has fared better because it is a bit behind schedule in organisational and regulatory restructuring," he said.

"The downturn in Italy has started and there is no driving force for net-net hiring gains in 2003.'

Although 75% of executive search consultants in the survey said they had a negative

outlook for the European economy in the coming six months, 71% predicted that search would pick up in 2003.