Employers in Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are continuing
to express more optimism than large businesses as to their hiring
intentions for 2004, according to Manpower, the UK’s leading
workforce management company.
The results from Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey covering
the quarter to June 2004 show that the balance of employers in small
and medium sized businesses looking to recruit more staff has risen
to 21% and 17% respectively, from a figure of 17% and 11% at the
start of the year. The outlook for larger businesses stands at 11%
compared to 2% for the same period. However, this figure for large
businesses is still below the average for all business sizes of
16%.
Comments Hazel Detsiny, Director at Manpower: “Small businesses
play an important role in the UK economy and reports of their intent
to continue expanding their workforce are particularly encouraging.
At Manpower, we’re seeing demand for staff for SMEs across
the UK and from a wide variety of sectors from manufacturing to
retail to financial services. Many companies are also looking to
expand their permanent workforces which can often be seen as an
encouraging sign of future business confidence.”
Nigel Griffiths, Minister for Small Business and Enterprise, comments:
"The results of this survey are extremely heartening as small
and medium sized enterprises hold the key to the UK's continued
economic prosperity - employing more than 12 million people and
contributing more than £1 trillion to the economy. The Government
is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to start
and grow a business, delivering through our action plan for small
business."
Stephen Alambritis, Head of Parliamentary Affairs at the Federation
of Small Businesses, adds: "This survey reflects our members’
experience in wanting to grow their business and in their desire
to fulfill their job creation potential."
Manpower takes its responsibility as the direct employer of all
staff seriously by investing heavily in its training and development
programmes. The Global Learning Centre is a free online tool offering
over 1,500 courses in diverse areas such as business and IT, to
all those working through Manpower.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey provides a forecast of employer
hiring intentions for the quarter: January to March 2004. 2,500
UK employers were surveyed in the UK and over 35,000 employers in
18 countries globally. The independent survey is carried out by
NOP.
Change (Q2 2004 vs Q1 2004)
Employer confidence by size of company:
Micro companies (1 - 9 employees) = +9%
Small companies (10 - 49) = +21%
Medium companies (50 - 199 employees) = +17%
Large companies (200+) = +11%
Size Increase Decrease Don’t Know No change Net outlook
Micro 14 5 0 81 +9
Small 26 5 0 69 +21
Medium 27 10 1 62 +17
Large 26 15 1 58 +11
Manpower is the UK’s leading workforce management company,
specialising in permanent and temporary recruitment, HR services,
managed services, outsourcing and HR consultancy.
Manpower has been established in the UK since 1956 and today works
with organisations in both the public and private sector. Manpower’s
UK-wide network of 300 offices allows the company to meet the needs
of local and national customers. This includes numerous small and
medium sized enterprises, as well as larger organisations such as
BMW, BT, Heinz, Hertfordshire County Council, IBM, National Blood
Service, New Deal South Wales, 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 has a highly skilled workforce of 100,000 temporary employees
who stay loyal to the company (and its customers) thanks to best
in class employment benefits. These include a contract of employment
and a free e-learning tool offering staff over 1,000 courses in
a diverse range of subjects, keeping Manpower’s workforce
up to date with today’s ever-changing working environment.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, [formerly Manpower’s
Quarterly Survey of Employment Prospects] is conducted quarterly
to measure employers’ hiring intentions for the forthcoming
quarter. Unique in its predictive nature, the Survey is widely used
in Government and industry, including The Bank of England’s
Monetary Policy Committee as evidence of labour market activity.
The Survey has been running for more than 40 years and is based
on 2,500 interviews with public and private employers in the UK
and 30,000 interviews collectively across 18 countries worldwide.
See www.manpower.com
for global reports.
For further information, please contact the Manpower Press Office
on 020 8870 2214. Or you can e-mail us by selecting Press
Office from the Contact
Us page.
