After months of insisting that it has not seen the worst effects of the recession, recruitment agency Michael Page International today put out the inevitable profit warning and said it is cutting 400 of its own workers.

Shares in the group, which have fallen from a high of nearly 600p last year, dived another 10% today, off 18¼p at 174¾p.

While Page has recently been warning of the effect on the jobs market of the financial crisis, it has been telling shareholders its broad global spread had left it still producing quarterly growth in profits.

Now it is admitting none of its markets are immune. In a statement to the Stock Exchange, the company said: "Michael Page reported at the beginning of October that market conditions had become increasingly challenging as the turmoil in the financial sector had eroded confidence more generally in the wider economy.

"This loss of confidence is now more marked and has spread rapidly in November to virtually every industry sector and geographic market in which the group operates.

"Consequently the cautionary behaviour of clients and candidates has increased further, significantly reducing activity levels and shortening the group's earnings visibility. The group now estimates its full-year profits before tax will be around the bottom of the range of current analyst forecast for 2008."

According to Bloomberg, analysts' consensus on profits for 2008 is £136 million compared with £147 million in 2007.

Page said its headcount will be reduced to 5100 by the year end, reversing its hiring spree, which saw it take on 500 staff in the first half of the year, boosting total numbers to more than 5500.

The profit warning comes weeks after global recruitment giant Adecco walked away from a £1.3 billion, 400p-a-share, takeover offer for Page because its board had rebuffed the bid.