UK EMPLOYER HIRING EXPECTED TO INCREASE INTO SPRINGTIME
- Finance & Business Services employers lead national hiring plans
- Manufacturing job prospects at 2.5 year high
- High Street resilient in face of interest rate increases
- UK Net Employment Outlook +14%
MANPOWER EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK SURVEY QUARTER2 2007
LONDON, 13 MARCH 2007: UK employers say they will continue to keep hiring throughout
the spring, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today. For the third
consecutive quarter, the UK’s hiring plans continue to be led by employers in the Finance & Business
Services sector, albeit at a slower rate than in recent quarters.
The research reveals that 21 per cent of Finance & Business Services employers plan to take on more staff
in the quarter ahead and just two per cent plan to make staff reductions, giving a Net Employment Outlook¹
of +19% - eight percentage points weaker than last quarter and one percentage point down on this time last
year. At the same time, confidence among employers in the Manufacturing sector has increased notably – up
by seven percentage points over the quarter and one percentage point over the year to give an Outlook of
+14% - the strongest Outlook since Quarter 4 2004.
Manpower's latest survey of over 1,800 UK employers reveals that a favourable 18 per cent of UK employers
plan to increase their headcount over the second quarter (April-June) - matching the same increase in hiring
plans as reported in each of the last three quarters. Four per cent of employers plan to reduce staff
numbers giving a Net Employment Outlook of +14%. 76 per cent of employers plan no change to their
staffing numbers. This Outlook is up two percentage points on the last quarter and one percentage
point on the year. When seasonal variations are removed from the data, the Outlook is +13%. Employers
in all business sectors and all regions of the UK surveyed plan to add to their headcount over the next
three months.
Comments Mark Cahill, Managing Director of Manpower UK: "The upbeat hiring picture we saw
at the start of the year looks set to continue. This is very much a period of stability - employer hiring
confidence across industry sectors tends to reflect the national average, and employers in all UK regions
are positive about their future hiring plans. This is very good news for the labour market."
Hiring confidence is also reflected amongst employers in the Hotels & Retail sector who anticipate their
most optimistic second quarter since 2002 with an Outlook of +13%. Leisure (hotel/restaurants) employers
are particularly buoyant – 20 per cent plan to take on more staff, an increase of 22 percentage points over
the last quarter. None plan to make cut-backs. High Street employers are also upbeat with an Outlook of
+12%. Employers reporting figures at or above the national average include those in the Construction,
Mining and Utilities sectors.
Continues Mark: "The strength of the UK labour market is evidenced by hiring plans not
being dented by recent increases in interest rates, nor in the face of rises in inflation. Confidence
amongst Manufacturing employers is at a two and a half year high and consumer confidence on the High
Street is such that employers are also looking to take on more staff. We will need to see how any future
increases in both interest rates and inflation forecasts may impact on consumer spending and filter down
to employers, but for now employers remain upbeat."
At a regional level, employers are the most confident in Wales and Yorkshire & Humberside recording an
Outlook of +24%: in Wales, they are reporting their most optimistic quarter on record (since 2002),
representing an increase of 21 and 11 percentage points over the last quarter and last year respectively;
and in Yorkshire & Humberside employers are the most confident they have been at any time since Quarter 3
2001 being 20 and 18 percentage points stronger than last quarter and last year, respectively. Employers
in Scotland (+9%) and the North East (+20%) are more restrained in their plans than of recent quarters,
reflecting a readjustment after periods of strong optimism.
Employers in the South East and West Midlands report figures above the national average whilst those in the
East Midlands, the South West, the East, London and the North West are the least confident.
Of the countries surveyed in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, job prospects are strongest in
South Africa, Ireland, Switzerland, Norway and the UK, while French employers report the weakest, but still
positive, hiring expectations in the region. In addition to the improvement reported for Germany, Italian
employers also reported a notable boost in hiring plans from last year at this time.
-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 (18%) - % decrease (4%)
= 14%]
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 most extensive
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 Center.
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.
