The European Barometer of Executive Recruitment conducted by ECSSA on the perception of the state of the market shows, as of September 2019, a consolidated index equal to + 2.7, i. e. a decrease of 12 points compared to the beginning of 2019. This index confirms and amplifies the decline of the optimist recorded at the beginning of the year (+ 15) and contrasts with the period March 2017–May 2018 when the index fluctuated between 35 and 38.

In line with the European average, and with the exception of Italy, all participating countries recorded a continuous decline in confidence compared to previous editions (March 2019, May 2018 and December 2017). During 2019, the largest drop was in Germany (− 18 points) followed by Luxembourg (− 13), Belgium (− 11.6), France (− 9) and Spain (− 7). In the breakdown of performance by country, we distinguish two groups: Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium and Spain, which perform better than the European average, and Germany and France, which have a negative index (− 6 and − 15.6 respectively).