Staffing agency Randstad posted a drop in third-quarter profit on Thursday, saying it expected demand for temporary staff to further slacken as the economic crisis bites.

Companies tend to shed temporary staff first during an economic downturn.
Randstad, the second biggest employment agency in the world, booked net profit of almost 79m in the third quarter, down 20% on 2007 but including a 50m charge.
Randstad aquired its Dutch rival Vedior in May and analysts told Reuters the integration process could be a further handicap. ‘The real stress test has yet to begin,’ Petercam analyst Paul Linssen told Reuters.
For the full Randstad statement, click here