Executives at staffing services groups are starting to feel like stalwarts of the Flat Earth Society. No matter how much they protest that the downturn in financial services is not wreaking havoc on their businesses, no one is really listening.

Analysis from Data Explorers, a consultancy, shows that short-selling has mounted in the FTSE stocks most exposed to banking hiring trends - Michael Page, Robert Walters and Hays. Strong figures and a positive outlook from SThree, a small-cap recruiter with only a fringe exposure to banking, was not enough to avert a share price slide more severe than that of the overall services sector.