According to a recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, German employers anticipate a hiring increase in the second quarter, while U.S. and Indian employers expect hiring to ease.
“German employers across all industry sectors are telling us they’ll increase hiring, but the demand for employees is expected to be particularly high in the utilities and business services sectors,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, chairman and CEO of Manpower Inc.
He continued: “U.S. employers appear to be absorbing the hiring that was done in the previous quarters and are now adopting a sabbatical approach to hiring for the second quarter, with nearly 6 in 10 expecting no changes to their headcount. Indian employers share this pensive hiring sentiment, as they are assessing their needs while they are busy finalizing their 2007 business plans and budgets.”
According to the survey, those countries expecting the largest increases in hiring include: Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa and Switzerland.
“Employers across all industry sectors in Singapore are expecting to ratchet up the hiring pace from last year. But the reality is that the people are just not available in the labor market today, and this is something that employers will continue to struggle with,” said Joerres. “The Australian market faces similar challenges, as the demand for talent is high, particularly in the mining and construction sector.”
In the Asia Pacific region, Taiwan, India and Hong Kong reported weaker, but positive hiring expectations.
For the Americas, Canada and the U.S. expect hiring to weaken, while Mexico reports one of its highest employment expectations.
“The seasonally adjusted data shows that the Mexican labor market is expected to continue the positive upward trend that began in 2004, with the strongest job prospects coming from the construction and services sectors,” said Joerres. “Conversely, and not surprisingly, in the U.S. there is considerably less optimism in the construction sector compared to this time last year and employers in the durable goods manufacturing sector are anticipating the slowest hiring pace in three years.”