Manpower Group’s third quarter Employment Outlook Survey shows hiring intentions improving globally by 18% over last year, and up 4% from the previous quarter. This is despite the highest talent shortage in 16 years. In fact, a full three-quarters of employers are reporting difficulty filling key roles – this is up 6% compared to last year. Large companies are feeling this pinch more acutely than smaller employers. Shifting demographics, including falling birth rates, early retirements (especially among the large Baby Boomer segment) are exacerbating the tight labor conditions.
The Employment Outlook Survey surveys more than 40,000 employers located throughout 40 different countries in the Americas, EMEA and AsiaPacific. The survey is the longest-running of its kind, celebrating 60 years in 2022. It utilizes a Net Employment Outlook, which 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.
Some of the positive indicators from the Q3 results include the following:
- The strongest net hiring intentions are reported in Mexico (+59%), Brazil (+54%), India (+51%), Canada (+43%), and Colombia (+43%)
- In this iteration of the survey, hiring intentions in 28 of the 40 surveyed countries are higher than the previous quarter; 36 of 40 countries have more positive outlooks on a year-over-year basis
- Of the surveyed countries, only Greece is anticipating a negative net employment outlook (NEO) in the upcoming quarter, at -1%
- Multiple employment sectors are also expecting significant gains in NEO in the third quarterly, notably IT/technology/telecom/communications/media (+44%) and banking/ finance/ insurance/real estate (+38%). Manufacturing and construction are close behind, each at +33%.
- Large employers, while struggling the most to find employees, are also planning to do the most hiring
- Employers in Ireland lead EMEA with a NEO of +42% followed by South Africa (+38%) and Portugal (+37%)
- The strongest hiring outlook in AsiaPac is in India for the second consecutive quarter (+51%). Hong Kong is also trending up despite prolonged travel and other COVID-related restrictions
- All 10 countries surveyed in the Americas plan to increase headcount in the upcoming quarter; Brazil has the strongest outlook at +54%
Despite inconsistent economic news and headlines, employers clearly remain optimistic about both hiring and market demand. Labor challenges remain and are not expected to ease significantly in the short-term. Third party recruiters with deep connections to passive candidates should continue to remain in high demand for the foreseeable future.