Employers are more optimistic about labour market recovery than last quarter, with 77% expecting pre-pandemic hiring levels to return by the end of the year, according to ManpowerGroup.
The hiring outlook for the second quarter improves in 24 of 43 markets, confirmed its latest Employment Outlook Survey of over 42,000 employers. Employers report more positive employment outlooks than last quarter in 24 countries; weaker in 16 and unchanged in three. Employers in India, Hong Kong and the US are most optimistic about returning to pre-pandemic hiring by end of 2021; while employers in Germany, France, Netherlands and Poland are least optimistic.
GLOBAL HIRING PLANS BY REGION
AMERICAS
Hiring intentions strengthen in four countries (US, Costa Rica, Canada and Colombia), and weaken in six (Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru) since the previous quarter.
- US employers report the strongest hiring intentions in the region for the 14th consecutive quarter (+18%); followed by Brazil (+9%) and Canada (+8%). The weakest and only negative intentions in the region are in Panama (-8%), the weakest globally, and Peru (-2%).
- Employers in all US sectors are anticipating positive outlooks for the next three months. The strongest hiring activity is forecast for the leisure and hospitality (+27%); transportation and utilities (+23%); and wholesale and retail Trade (+22%).
- In Brazil, the manufacturing sector outlook of +11% is stronger than the national outlook of (+8%); remaining both relatively stable when compared with the previous quarter, but decreasing by 2 percentage points year-over-year.
EMEA
The hiring outlook improves or remains the same in 17 countries. However, it has declined in seven, quarter-over-quarter (Bulgaria, Finland, Germany Greece, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands).
- Croatia (12%), Romania (12%) and Turkey (10%) have the strongest regional hiring plans; while the weakest are expected in the UK (-5%) and South Africa (-5%).
- In France hiring intentions rise by 6 percentage points quarter-over-quarter, with employers in construction and manufacturing reporting the most optimistic hiring plans.
- In Germany, the finance and business services sector (+15%) report the strongest hiring plans; while the restaurants and hotels sector (-16%) report its weakest outlook since 2003.
- UK employers report the weakest outlooks in Europe, driven by declines in hospitality and retail, and business services.
APAC
Hiring intentions improve in four APAC countries and territories since last quarter (Australia, India, Singapore, Taiwan). However, they remain the same in China and Hong Kong and weaken in Japan.
- Taiwan (+24%), Australia (+17%) and Singapore (+17%) report the strongest hiring prospects for the second consecutive quarter. The weakest and only negative hiring intentions are expected in Hong Kong(-2%) and Japan (-1%).
- Hong Kong (-4%) and Japan (-4%) report their weakest outlooks in retail and trade since the studies began.
- Employers in Australia report the strongest hiring pace in more than nine years, with positive outlooks reported in all seven industry sectors. Optimism is particularly high in finance, insurance and real estate, and manufacturing.
TWO-SPEED RECOVERY
“We continue to see evidence of a two-speed recovery, where people with in-demand skills and those organisations that are digitising most are thriving, while others are at risk of falling behind,” said Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup. “As more vaccines are approved and employers have implemented strong safety protocols to avoid full shutdowns in workplaces where people must be on site, we are seeing the beginning of more hiring optimism for the months ahead.
“We still have a long way to go in this recovery, yet these results point to positive trends in many industries. Now is the time to equip people with the digital and soft skills employers need as demand is likely to rise as organisations continue to accelerate their digitisation plans.”
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In next six to 12 months, organisations expect 51% of their employees to be back in the workplace most of the time. Click here to read more.
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