- North East number one location for hiring confidence
- Finance & Business Services Sector confidence at six year high
- London recruitment boom eases
- UK Net Employment Outlook +12%
MANPOWER EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK SURVEY Q1 2007
LONDON, 12 DECEMBER 2006: The recent boom in hiring confidence from employers in the Financial
Services sector looks set to continue, according to a survey by Manpower, the UK's leading employment
experts. This ongoing confidence - coupled with renewed optimism amongst employers in the North East
of England - will drive New Year hiring plans. The continued demand for staff in the Financial Services
sector is good news again for the City though throws up fresh challenges about a shortage of skills
and an increase in wage inflation.
The latest results from the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey reveal that one third (32%) of Finance &
Business services employers are to take on more staff and just 5% will make cut-backs giving a Net
Employment Outlook1 of +27%. This is an uplift of four percentage points over the last quarter and
seven percentage points over the year – the strongest Outlook for this sector since Quarter 2 1998.
In all, Finance & Business Services employers have reported the strongest hiring intentions of all
industry sectors surveyed in four of the last five quarters.
Utilities employers are also notably optimistic by recording an Outlook of +21% - the strongest
results since records began in 2002. Manufacturing employers, who have recorded relatively upbeat
results in recent surveys, expect to be more restrained in the first quarter recording an Outlook
of +7% - a decrease of three percentage points over Quarter 4 2006 and two percentage points over
the year.
Mark Cahill, Managing Director of Manpower UK, said: "Employers across all regions of the UK and
almost all industry sectors are optimistic about their hiring plans for the start of the year which
is great news for a healthy start to 2007. This of course brings the challenge of being able to
recruit quality staff. The UK has particular shortages of skills in a diverse range of industries
such as sales, driving and skilled trades which makes recruitment a challenge for many companies.
This trend shows no real signs of abating. This is a particular issue in the Financial Services
sector and many employers will be asking where they will find these staff."
Separate Manpower research reveals that 37% of Finance & Business Services employers would have
added to their workforce if the skilled talent was available and that talent shortages have led
to 28% of these employers paying higher wages compared to a year ago.
Manpower’s quarterly survey of over 1,700 UK employers measures anticipated hiring activity for the
forthcoming quarter. The results for the period January-March 2007 show that 18% of employers plan to
take on more staff and 6% look to reduce numbers to give a Net Employment Outlook of +12%. This represents
a quarter-on-quarter increase of one percentage point and a year-on-year increase of three percentage points.
When seasonal variations are removed from the data, the Outlook is +15%².
The report reveals that confidence amongst employers in the High Street is to strengthen to +11% from a
restrained +2% in late 2006 whilst employers in the Hotels & Restaurants sub-sector are to scale back on
numbers in the New Year with an Outlook of -2%.
Continues Mark: "The easing of confidence amongst Manufacturing employers over the last
three quarters is of no real surprise as their period of hiring optimism had to balance out some time soon.
Whilst still optimistic, employers have brought their hiring plans more into line with their longer
term average."
At a regional level, employers in the North East and Scotland are the most confident, recording
Outlooks of +23% and +21% respectively. Employers in Northern Ireland, the South East and the South
West all report figures above the national average. Employers in the East Midlands, Wales, West
Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside are the least confident of those surveyed. Confidence amongst
London employers has declined sharply by 18 percentage points from the end of 2006 to an Outlook
of +12%.
Comments Mark: "The hiring intentions from employers in the North East are encouraging as this
represents the first uplift employers have reported in a year. Our business is seeing a notable
increase in demand from the public sector and NHS employers in particular. Employees with sales
experience in the Financial Services industry are also in demand."
Employer hiring intentions across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are strongest in South
Africa, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Belgium, while Italian employers report the
weakest regional hiring expectations. Employers in Norway are the only ones in the region indicating
that they will slow hiring from one year ago. This quarter’s result from Norwegian employers is the
weakest in two years.
-Ends-
NOTES TO EDITORS
¹A 'Net Employment Outlook' is calculated by subtracting those employers who plan to reduce
staffing levels from those who plan to hire staff. A positive result indicates that more
employers plan to increase rather than decrease staffing levels; a negative result reflects
the opposite. [% increase (19%) - % decrease (4%) = 15%]
²In terms of Net Employment Outlook without seasonal adjustment
For international comparisons and visual library with graphs, visit
www.manpower.com.
About the Survey
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers' intentions
to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter.
It is the only forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in its size, scope, longevity
and area of focus. The survey has been running for more than 40 years and is one of the most
trusted surveys of employment activity in the world. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is
based on interviews with nearly 50,000 public and private employers worldwide and is considered
a highly respected economic indicator.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is currently available for 27 countries and territories:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Singapore, Spain, South Africa,
Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The program began in the United
States and Canada in 1962, and the United Kingdom was added in 1966. Mexico and Ireland launched the
survey in 2002, and 13 additional countries were added to the program in 2003. New Zealand joined
the program in 2004, China, India, Switzerland and Taiwan were added in 2005, and Argentina, Peru,
Costa Rica and South Africa joined in 2006. For more information, visit the Manpower Inc. Web site at
www.manpower.com and
enter the Research Centre
About Manpower
Manpower is one of the largest and most innovative companies in the UK’s employment services industry;
creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. The
company provides a wide range of services including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment,
employee assessment and selection, training, outplacement, outsourcing and consulting.
Manpower was established in the UK in 1956, and today works with organisations in both the public and
private sectors, ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises, to multi-national organisations such
as BMW, BT, Hertfordshire County Council, IBM, Royal Mail and Xerox.
The focus of Manpower’s work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and
cost-reduction, enabling customers to concentrate on their core business. Manpower works across
all industries finding people for every level of an organisation.
Manpower Professional (formerly Nicholas Andrews) is the company’s accountancy and finance arm,
and was voted Recruiter of the Year by Accountancy Age magazine in 2005.
Manpower UK has a network of over 300 offices and is a subsidiary of Manpower Inc, a worldwide
network of 4,400 offices in 72 countries and territories.
