WORLD – HIRING INTENTIONS REMAIN STRONG FOR Q4 2022, APAC LEADS THE WAY
The global labour market remains strong with steady hiring expected for the remainder of 2022, according to the Q4 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.
The global labour market remains strong with steady hiring expected for the remainder of 2022, according to the Q4 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.
The Net Employment Outlook, calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers who anticipate reductions to staffing levels from those who plan to hire, now stands at 30%, down 3% from Q3, yet 6% higher than in the same period last year. The survey polled 40,700 employers in 41 countries and territories.
ManpowerGroup’s Outlook survey showed that only hiring managers in Greece and Hungary reported negative outlooks for the quarter. Findings also showed uneven economic growth across markets responding differently to disruptions from the conflict in Ukraine, looming concerns over a possible recession, rising inflation, and higher costs of living.
Regardless of those challenges, demand for skilled workers remains at record highs, ManpowerGroup noted.
ManpowerGroup Chairman & CEO Jonas Prising, “Despite economic and geopolitical clouds on the horizon, employer hiring intentions remain strong. Organisations continue to focus on attracting and retaining people as competition for employees remains fierce, even two years after the pandemic first began. That means holding onto, and developing, the talent they have.”
“Digital roles continue to drive most of the demand globally with the greatest need for talent with technology skills,” Prising said. “The rotation of consumer spending from goods to services continues to create more employment opportunities across hospitality sectors while employers in finance, banking, and insurance compete for skilled workers to fill in-demand roles.”
Organisations in the IT industry report the most optimistic outlook (+42%); followed closely by Banking, Real Estate, and Insurance (+37%).
The brightest hiring intentions for Q4 2022 are in Asia Pacific (+40%) and South and Central Americas (+39%), with the greatest expectations in Brazil (+56%) and India (+54%). Employers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) anticipate relatively stable hiring (+21%), yet outlooks for countries near Ukraine fall by as much as 17% since last quarter.
In the EMEA region, employers said confidence softened in their outlook (+21%). Intentions remain the same when compared with Q4 2021 while easing -3% since last quarter. Outlooks varied across the region with employers most keen to hire in Sweden (+34%), France (+34%), Norway (+33%), and Belgium (+33%), and the most cautious in Hungary (-5%), Greece (- 3%), and Poland (+1%).
Meanwhile, countries closest to Ukraine are taking a frugal approach in hiring intentions; for example, Hungary dropped 17% since last quarter, and now report an outlook of -5%.
In the APAC region, hiring managers anticipate the most robust hiring intentions globally (40%). India (+54%), China (+46%), and Australia (+38%) report the most positive outlooks. APAC is the only region where hiring intentions improve from last quarter (+6%) and shows a 20% increase from Q4 2021. China and Hong Kong continue to bounce back from Covid-19 lockdowns prevalent last quarter, both growing 15% since Q3.
In North America, employers in the region remain optimistic in the final quarter of 2022 (+32%). Employers in Canada (+30%) and the U.S. (+33%) report moderate decreases in their outlooks compared to last quarter, -8% and -5%, respectively, while Puerto Rico reports an overall outlook of +32%.
In Central and South America, organisations in all nine countries share strong outlooks. Hiring managers in Brazil report bullish intentions (+56%), followed by Costa Rica (+52%), and Colombia (+46%); The lowest confidence is seen in Argentina (+9%).
Large organisations (250+ employees) reported the strongest hiring intentions globally (37%). This was followed by Medium (50-249) at 29%, Small at 24%, and Micro at 22%.