ManpowerGroup: The global recruitment prospects are more optimistic than the previous season, but there is a huge difference in the labor market.

Recruitment prospects have always been a matter of concern to employers and workers. The Manpower Group surveyed 60,000 employers in 44 countries, and employers in 18 countries reported more optimistic prospects for recruitment than in the previous quarter. The survey targets include Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Belgium and other places.

The survey results show that although many countries have good prospects for recruitment, it is expected that employers in most European, Middle Eastern and African countries will have little prospects for recruitment. Hungary is the only one of the 44 respondents who said that the willingness to recruit in the next three months is negative. Employers in the Americas and Asia Pacific report some of the most optimistic prospects in the world, with the US reporting the strongest prospects in 13 years (+ 21%), Australia’s strongest in seven years (+ 14%), and Brazil’s strongest five-year outlook Year (+ 11%). There is a huge difference in the global labor market.

“We’re seeing significant variation across global labor markets,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chairman & CEO. “Employers in Europe plan modest yet varied hiring as uncertainty and unpredictability around trade wars and Brexit continues, while in the U.S. and some parts of the Asia Pacific region organizations are planning to hire at levels we haven’t seen for many years. Overall, employers around the world are increasingly looking for specific technical and soft skills and are struggling to fill both temporary and permanent positions. Leaders across all industries are focused on the need to upskill people in short cycles at speed and at scale to ensure they have the talent they need when they need it.”

Global Hiring Plans by Region

EMEA: The strongest Outlooks reported in Croatia (+23%), Greece and Slovenia (+20%) with hiring in many of the region’s larger economies remaining stable.

• Quarter-over-quarter hiring intentions weaken in 14 countries, remain flat in 7 and increase in 5.
• Hiring intentions in Germany are slightly down on a quarterly and yearly basis, driven by a dip in hiring prospects reported by Manufacturing, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services sector employers.
• Hungary is the only country of 44 surveyed expecting to reduce the number of employees over the next quarter (-2%), a two-percentage point decline since Q2.

Americas: All 10 countries in the region expect to increase their headcount with the U.S. reporting an Outlook of +21%, the strongest in 13 years.

• Employers plan strong summer hiring in the U.S. led by Professional & Business Services, Leisure & Hospitality and Transportation & Utilities. Regionally, the West (+22%) and the Midwest (+21%) have the most optimistic regional Outlooks and the highest reported Outlooks in 11 and 18 years, respectively. 
• Brazilian employers report their strongest Outlook in five years (+11%). Positive hiring is anticipated in all eight industry sectors and all five regions with the strongest reported in Agriculture, Fishing & Mining, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate and the Wholesale & Retail Trade.
• In Mexico employers predict the weakest yet still positive quarterly Outlook in more than two years (+10%), driven by weakening hiring sentiment in the Agriculture, Fishing and Commerce sectors are prevalent in Mexico.

Asia Pacific: The Asia Pacific region continues to have the highest Outlook globally with hiring prospects strongest in Japan (+25%) and Taiwan (+22%).

• Hiring sentiment in Japan is the strongest of all 44 countries (+25%) with employers planning to add headcount in all seven industry sectors and all three regions.
• Australian employers report their strongest hiring intentions in seven years (14%) fueled by the Transportation & Utilities and Services sectors.
• The employment Outlook in China remains relatively stable in comparison with the prior quarter, although Chinese employers report a slight decline year-over-year of -2%.

*The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

About ManpowerGroup 

ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year, providing them with skilled talent while finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands – Manpower®, Experis®, Right Management® and ManpowerGroup® Solutions – creates substantially more value for candidates and clients across 80 countries and territories and has done so for over 70 years. In 2019, ManpowerGroup was named one of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies for the seventeenth year and one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the tenth year, confirming our position as the most trusted brand in the industry.