Many employers still expect to reduce staff

The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey reveals the hiring intentions of Ireland"s employers are the weakest globally. The survey, released this week by Manpower Ireland, a leading provider of workforce management solutions, has found that 13 per cent of Irish employers expect to reduce staff numbers between July and September this year. The Manpower survey, which measured 634 Irish employers" intentions to increase or decrease their workforces over the next three months, also reveals that Ireland"s net employment outlook for the next three months is -11 per cent, the weakest hiring forecast globally. With the exception of the public and social sector, where the outlook is a cautious +5 per cent, considerably weak hiring activity is reported by employers in other industry sectors, with the transport, storage and communications sector (-20%) and the mining and quarrying sector (-37%) declining by 29 and 24 percentage points, respectively, when compared to the same time last year. Finance, insurance, real estate and business and manufacturing industry sectors employers are also forecasting a gloomy hiring environment for job-seekers, reporting an outlook of -14%. The employment outlook of -11% is calculated by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in total employment (six per cent) and subtracting from this the percentage expecting to see a decrease (13 per cent). This figure of -7% is then amended according to any seasonal variations in recruitment patterns as witnessed since the survey began in Ireland in 2002, resulting in a net employment outlook figure of -11%. Krissie Davies, managing director of Manpower Ireland, said: 'The pace of workforce reductions appears to have peaked in Q1 and Q2 of this year. While the Irish labour market is predicted to continue to weaken with 13 per cent of Irish employers envisaging letting staff go, there is finally some evidence, albeit tentative, to suggest that the rate of deterioration may be easing. However, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that the numbers signing on will continue to rise in the coming months, as job losses are ongoing as employers continue to adjust and align payrolls to the current difficult business climate.' Employers in all five Irish regions have reported negative hiring intentions for the forthcoming quarter. However, quarter-over-quarter comparisons reveal that the employment outlook have slightly improved in four of the five regions. For Leinster, the particularly gloomy outlook of -15% is the weakest reported in the region since the survey began in Quarter 1 2002. Ireland"s outlook of -11% is the weakest globally, followed by Spain (-8%) and Greece (-7%). The strongest is reported by employers in India (+19%). However, this represents a six percentage point decline from last quarter and a considerable 24 percentage point decline from this time last year. Most of the countries surveyed in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region expect cutbacks. German employers report their first negative hiring forecast in three years while eight of the EMEA countries surveyed report their least optimistic hiring plans since the surveys were established in these countries. Norway"s (+10%) and Poland"s (+9%) forecasts are the most favourable hiring plans of the region.