Employers Worldwide Report Positive Hiring Outlook

Hiring prospects are looking up for job seekers around the world in the fourth quarter of 2017. There are no negative employment outlooks reported for the first time since 2009, according to latest Employment Outlook Survey from ManpowerGroup, a leading global workforce solutions company.

For its Q4 2017 survey, the firm polled more than 59,000 employers across 43 countries and territories.

Survey Findings

Among survey findings:

• Hiring confidence is strongest in Japan, Taiwan, Costa Rica, India, and Hungary.
• Hiring has strengthened in 23 countries and territories, is unchanged in seven, and declines in 13, when compared to Q3 2017.
• Confidence levels have strengthened year-on-year in 25 countries and territories.
• In the United States, manufacturing hiring continues on a growth trajectory, with employers reporting the most optimistic intentions since 2007.

“We are seeing sustained hiring confidence from employers around the world after some years of caution,” said Jonas Prising, chairman & CEO of ManpowerGroup. “Countries including Spain, Italy, and Greece are back on track and job prospects across the world are looking up. In the UK, employers in financial services and construction report the strongest outlooks, reinforcing their need for access to talent. Across the world, lower unemployment, strong hiring intentions, and demand for increasingly specific skill sets all point to a growing skills mismatch. In this tight labor market organizations need to work harder than ever to reskill existing employees and upskill future talent. It’s time to get smart about how to attract, retain, and develop the workforce of tomorrow.”

Hiring Plans by Region

EMEA: Staffing levels are expected to grow in 24 of 25 countries surveyed. Employers in Hungary, Greece, and Romania report the strongest hiring plans in the EMEA region, and employers in Switzerland, Czech Republic, Italy, and Belgium report the weakest, yet still positive outlooks.

• In the UK, employer hiring intentions continue to be favorable in the face of uncertainty around Brexit negotiations. The Q4 outlook remains stable at +6 percent, improving 1 percent quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. The strongest UK outlooks are seen in the construction sector at +11 percent and finance and business services at +9 percent.
• Employers in Greece are reporting the eighth consecutive quarter of positive hiring intentions. The outlook of +15 percent, the strongest planned hiring since Q3 2008, is driven by continued growth in the finance and business services sector, at +21 percent.
• French employers report positive hiring intentions for the sixth consecutive quarter. The employment outlook for the last quarter is the strongest reported in more than two years. New President Macron’s focus on labor market reform could provide greater mobility and help employers find the workers they need.

Asia Pacific: Hiring is expected to increase in all eight Asia Pacific countries and territories during Q4 2017. Hiring sentiment is strongest in Japan and Taiwan, while the weakest outlooks are reported in Australia and China.

• Japan’s employers report the strongest fourth-quarter forecast among all 43 countries and territories for Q4 2017, driven by robust outlooks in the mining & construction and transportation & utilities sectors.
• Following six consecutive quarters of declining hiring intentions, employers in India reported a Q4 outlook of +19 percent, up from +15 percent in Q3, which was the weakest outlook in India since 2005.

Americas: Positive outlooks are reported in all 10 countries surveyed. Employers in Costa Rica report the most optimistic hiring intentions across the Americas region, while Brazil and Peru reported the weakest outlooks.

• Employers across the United States remain positive, with nearly one in five (21 percent) planning to hire in Q4. U.S. employers are continuing to expand in the durable goods manufacturing sector, reporting an outlook of +18 percent, the strongest hiring intentions since 2007. Employers in professional & business services also reported the strongest hiring intentions than at any point since 2009.
• Despite the Brazilian outlook being the weakest in the region at +1 percent, Q4 2017 represents its second consecutive quarter of positive forecasts following nine consecutive quarters of negative reports.