Report: Hiring expectations of 41 countries and territories Q3-2012

Despite a general softening trend from 12 months ago, employers in most labor markets report varying degrees of positive hiring activity for the third quarter. According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of global hiring trends released today, hiring activity is expected to slow from last year at this time […]

Despite a general softening trend from 12 months ago, employers in most labor markets report varying degrees of positive hiring activity for the third quarter.

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of global hiring trends released today, hiring activity is expected to slow from last year at this time in two-thirds of the countries and territories surveyed. The survey reveals few clear signs of notable traction in the labor market. However, the research reveals that employers in 33 of 41 countries and territories surveyed expect varying degrees of positive hiring activity for the third quarter. Hiring intentions are expected to improve or remain relatively stable in 32 labor markets compared to the second quarter, while hiring expectations weaken in 26 markets compared to this time last year. Other findings include:

Worldwide, employer hiring expectations are strongest in India, Taiwan, Brazil, Turkey and Singapore, and weakest in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Hungary.

Employer hiring plans remain positive across all 10 countries in the Americas. Despite Net Employment Outlooks declining from three months ago in six countries, hiring plans improve in six countries from 12 months ago. Regional hiring expectations are strongest in Brazil, Panama and Peru, and weakest in the U.S. and Argentina. However, the U.S. Outlook is the strongest forecast since the third quarter of 2008.

With the exception of Australia, hiring expectations in the Asia Pacific region remain stable or improved from three months ago, and Indian employers post one of their most optimistic forecasts since the survey began. However, in a year-over-year comparison, Net Employment Outlooks decline in five of eight countries and territories; the most notable decline is in Australia where job prospects weaken across all industry sectors. In Japan, employers post the seventh consecutive quarter of improving Outlooks, as well as the most optimistic Manufacturing sector Outlook since 2Q 2008.

The short-term hiring forecast across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region indicates hiring activity will remain relatively stable or improve in 20 of 23 countries quarter-over-quarter, but weaken in 17 countries year-over-year. Regional hiring plans are strongest in Turkey, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania and Norway, and weakest in Greece. Meanwhile, the German labor market is expected to lose steam in the next three months after defying the declining trend in the rest of Europe for more than a year.
The global leader in innovative workforce solutions, ManpowerGroup releases the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the longest running, most extensive, forward-looking employment survey in the world, polling over 65,000 employers in 41 countries and territories. The research serves as a bellwether of labor market trends and activities and is regularly used to inform the Bank of England’s Inflation Reports, as well as a regular data source for the European Commission, informing its EU Employment Situation and Social Outlook report the Monthly Monitor. ManpowerGroup’s independent survey data is also sourced by financial analysts and economists around the world to help determine where labor markets are headed.

To view full  results for each of the 41 countries and territories included in the research, plus regional and global comparisons, visit the ManpowerGroup Web site at: http://www.manpowergroup.com/meos

About Jacco Valkenburg

Jacco Valkenburg is an international recruitment expert, trainer and author (5 books). He has more than 20 years experience in global recruitment strategies and execution spanning numerous countries for leading companies. As founder of Recruiter University and Recruit2 he provides companies with recruitment training and consultancy. His mission is helping companies ‘from good to great staffing’.

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