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Death of Recruitment Agencies?

Perhaps I'm totally upside down on this whole thing, but it seems to me, from my nosebleed inducing Ivory Tower in Dublin, that Recruitment Agencies are in a world of pain. Various boards and forums (fora?) seem to point towards on the one hand, very few responses to ads, and on the other a definite move away, deliberately, from Recruitment Agencies. That is to say, fewer companies are using their services, and sure weren't they a necessary evil anyway? Makes me think of scores being settled during wars, you know. So is the industry paying the price for allowing quality of service die in a race to the bottom scenario? From what I can gather, this race is happening now, but more from the point of view of % rates falling rapidly. A job that would be filled at 25% of basic salary, or an across the board exclusive agreement of 22% don't exist and an agreement for 15% of basic is considered very good, whereas once upon a time, that was absolute bottom dollar and would have to have been paid up front! Or is it a case of the industry reaping what they sow, or an evolution, a cull if you will so that when the Recruitment market picks up and demand rises, last men standing will be the talented ones? But, what's a definition of a talented recruiter? One who can hold onto their job is one, bring in money. There are some genuinely brilliant, caring and passionate recruiters out there, but there are some more, perceived as the majority, who are evil dirt. But of course, this is based on the perception of the jobseeker, who, if not right for a role, is seen by a recruiter as a "time burglar" and not worthy of a response. To paraphrase Cool Hand Luke, what we have here is a failure to communicate. A strong representative body for Recruiters should address this failure and use this recession as an opportunity to improve their public relations. I fear it may be too late... The future Recruitment is an important industry, and hiring companies save time and money by being smart about it. Partnering with Agencies, the right ones that is. But, if a company throws a jobspec to the four winds at a low rate, it should then waive the right to be annoyed if their message is diluted and eventually employees get a bad impression of them. So, it will be back but it will never be the same again. Hirers, agents and candidates all need to learn new rules for this game. Hopefully % rates will remain reasonable in the future so this perception spiral does not repeat itself. (but it will!).