Job seekers in the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate industry sector will continue to benefit from strong demand
Taipei, Taiwan
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today reveals that employers are anticipating a strong labor market for job seekers in the final three months of 2008. Employers in the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate industry sector continue to remain optimistic with more than three out of 10 reporting they plan to add to their staff during the fourth quarter. . However, employers in most of the world’s other major labor markets are less optimistic about hiring in the fourth quarter, saying they will add fewer employees to their payrolls compared to one year ago.
Of the 1,127 employers interviewed in Taiwan this quarter, 26 percent anticipate increasing their workforces, while 9 percent expect to reduce their payrolls; 61 percent say they plan no changes in staff numbers. This quarterly survey of employer hiring intentions results in a healthy Net Employment Outlook of +17%. When the Net Employment Outlook is adjusted for seasonal variations it stands at an optimistic +23%, which is a 1 percentage point decrease when compared to last quarter (Q3 2008) but a moderate 7 percentage point improvement when compared to the same time last year (Q4 2007). Employers in the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector are reporting the strongest hiring intentions (+27%) for this quarter. Employers in the Transportation & Utilities and Wholesale & Retail Trade sectors also report strong hiring intentions for this quarter, with Net Employment Outlooks of +26% and +24%, respectively.
Terence Liu, General Manager of Manpower Inc. in Taiwan explains the optimistic forecast: “Our data reveals that Taiwan employers are more positive about adding employees in the fourth quarter than most of their global counterparts - only employers in four countries and territories had more upbeat hiring plans. In fact, when compared to the same time last year, the Net Employment Outlook for Taiwan increases 7 percentage points which is the strongest improvement among all of the 33 countries and territories that participate in the survey.”
“Employers in Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector keep ramping up their recruitment efforts in support of their credit, divided payments and credit card business. After surviving of the impact of credit and cash card debts, consumer banking and subprime mortgage on the job market in the past two years, the hiring picture in Finance, Insurance & Real Estate is expected to be better, “Terence added.
As for the global labor market, the survey data reveals that the most favorable fourth-quarter hiring plans globally are reported by employers in India, Costa Rica, Peru, Singapore, Taiwan, Colombia, Romania, Poland, Argentina, Australia and South Africa. Conversely, employers in Spain, Ireland and Italy are reporting the weakest and only negative hiring expectations for the quarter ahead. It would appear that the growing pessimism seen in the U.S. market over the past two quarters has moved eastward into Asia Pacific as employers in the region have become notably more conservative in their hiring plans. While outlooks remain positive, employers across all of the eight countries and territories surveyed in the region expect to pull back on hiring from the third quarter. On the other hand, compared to one year ago, the pace of hiring is expected to improve in India and Taiwan, and remain relatively stable in China.
“With the exception of Taiwan, regional hiring expectations among Service sector employers are notably weaker from one year ago and a fall in confidence in this key growth sector has a major impact on these labor markets,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc.. “As was the case last year at this time, job prospects should remain robust in India with much of the activity occurring in the Mining and Construction sector, which is being fueled by large infrastructure projects. Similarly, Taiwanese employers are set to accelerate hiring from this time last year, partially due to the continued demand for talent in the Finance/Insurance/Real Estate sector.”
Hiring expectations in the Americas region is expected to be strongest in Peru, Costa Rica and Colombia, which joins the Manpower survey for the first time this quarter, expanding labor markets covered by the survey to 33 countries and territories. On the other hand, employers in the U.S. and Guatemala are the least optimistic about adding employees in the quarter ahead.
In this survey, skilled manual trades refers to a broad range of job titles that require workers to possess specialized skills, traditionally learned over a period of time as an apprentice. Examples of skilled trades jobs include: electricians, carpenters, cabinet makers, masons/bricklayers, plumbers and welders. Technicians include primarily production/operations, engineering and maintenance.
“The U.S. labor market is expected to lose more momentum with employers telling us they will hire at the slowest pace in five years. Waning consumer confidence is also contributing to weaker demand by employers in the Wholesale/Retail Trade sector where hiring expectations are at a 17-year low,” said Joerres. “While fourth-quarter is a traditionally slower hiring period in many markets as employers budget for the upcoming year, hiring in the Retail sector is typically stronger due to the holiday season. This weaker employer confidence is particularly alarming, as it could indicate a less than merry Christmas for job seekers. Meanwhile, south of the border Mexican hiring intentions – while still healthy – signal the first contraction of strong employer hiring patterns in four years.”
Across the 17 countries surveyed in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, employers in Romania, Poland, South Africa, Greece, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are most optimistic about hiring in the next three months while Spanish, Italian and Irish employers are the least optimistic. Hiring in the region is generally expected to be softer with employers in 12 of 17 countries expecting to hire at a slower pace compared to three months ago. Notably, employer hiring plans in Spain are at a five-year low.
“Our data indicates weaker job prospects in the Finance and Business Services sector across Europe and this is most apparent in the U.K., where employers are reporting the weakest job prospects in this sector since 1999 and the least optimistic national Net Employment Outlook in 14 years,” said Joerres. “Interestingly, hiring sentiments have improved from three months ago in the Manufacturing sector in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, which is helping to bolster the Outlooks for these countries. In fact, the national outlook from Dutch employers is the most optimistic since the survey was established there in 2003.”
The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on the 9th of December 2008 to report hiring expectations for the first quarter of 2009. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is available free of charge to the public through their local Manpower representative in participating countries. To receive e-mail notification when the survey is available each quarter, interested individuals are invited to complete an online subscription form at http://investor.manpower.com/investors/alerts.cfm.
|
