Confidence levels on rise across 43 countries

MORE countries have indicated that they expected to boost their employee numbers in the first quarter of 2018. A Manpower Group Employment Outlook survey this week showed that employers in 41 of the 43 countries probed forecast an increase in staffing levels in the quarter.

The strongest outlook was reported in the US, Japan, Taiwan and India. Australia, Japan, Norway, Romania and the US reported the healthiest hiring plans in five years or more.

Among Brics countries, India said it anticipated its hiring pace to remain active in the January-March time frame. Employers reported an outlook of +22 percent once the data was adjusted to allow for seasonal variation.

China’s employers reported a seasonally adjusted net employment outlook of +8 percent for the second consecutive quarter. In comparison with this year’s first quarter the outlook improved by 4 percentage points.

South Africa’s employers reported conservative hiring intentions with 15 percent expecting to increase staffing levels and a net employment outlook of +6 percent once the data is adjusted to allow for seasonal variation. Brazil’s hiring intentions improved to +6 percent once seasonal variations were removed from the data. The survey further pointed out that opportunities for job seekers were expected to be slightly stronger than they were in the previous quarter. Outlooks among employers in Eastern Europe and Greece outpaced those in Western Europe.

Employers in Austria and Italy reported the weakest outlooks across Europe and the globe while job prospects remained upbeat in Romania, Hungary and Poland. In Spain and Portugal, employers reported more optimistic outlooks year-on-year, while in the UK, Germany and Belgium they report weaker, yet still positive, hiring intentions.

Manpower Group chairperson and chief executive Jonas Prising said: “The first quarter of 2018 is looking bright for job seekers with employment outlooks improving in many markets.”