Fee income rose to £363.4m as Hays took on 171 new recruiters in the UK to deal with demand.

The UK operation made a £9.9m profit during the six months to December 31 2013 on net fees of £119.5m generated by 2,020 staff.

The company said: “In our private sector business, which represented 71% of the division’s net fees, net fees increased by 6%and we saw strong double-digit fee growth in several key specialisms including Construction & Property.

“We believe our UK & Ireland business is well-placed to take full advantage of the current market opportunity, as well as any continued market improvement.”

One industry expert said: “Agencies will hope to make a fortune out of the construction upturn but the internet can revolutionise the way contractors find staff.

“Companies have their own recruitment pages and need to attract candidates to apply directly to them to cut out the need for a middle man and any excessive fees.”

To recruit new staff directly online without the need to pay agency fees visit our Job Spy pages.