The performance chimes with recent upbeat results from European peers Randstad and Majorel.

Sales in the group's biggest unit Adecco, which offers permanent and flexible staffing services, grew 3% organically and brought in two-thirds of revenues in the quarter, underpinned by resilient demand for temporary workers.

The division's result was especially strong in Europe, with France, Germany, and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) the biggest contributors thanks to demand from the automotive, logistics, and services sectors.

European companies have accelerated hiring to meet rising demand in the region's dominant service sector as the euro zone economy recovers faster than expected.

The performance of staffing firms is seen as a bellwether for broader economic activity as companies' appetite for hiring indicates confidence in the economy.

Adecco, which provides temporary and permanent workers for industries ranging from manufacturing to tech consultancies and finance, reported an 8% rise in quarterly sales to 5.89 billion euros ($6.53 billion), beating analysts' consensus forecast of 5.83 billion euros.

"Our Career Transition business actively captured further corporate restructuring projects resulting in record high performance levels," CEO Denis Machuel said.

Sales in the career transition business, which offers coaching services for changing roles to workers and organisations, surged by 63% on reported basis.

In the current quarter, Adecco expects both gross margin and its selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) broadly in line with the first quarter.

It reported a gross profit margin of 21.3% and SG&A at 18.4% of revenues in the three months to the end of March.

($1 = 0.9021 euros)

(Reporting by Andrey Sychev in Gdansk; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Mark Potter)

By Andrey Sychev