“PLENTY OF JOBS,
NOT ENOUGH SKILLS” SAYS MANPOWER
Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Q2 2004
“UK job prospects for the second quarter
are positive with a Net balance of +16% of employers looking to
add to their payrolls. However, the current skills shortage and
low unemployment levels make finding staff difficult,” says
Hazel Detsiny, Director at Manpower.
Commenting on today’s release of the Manpower Employment Outlook
Survey, Detsiny adds: “For the last four years, our data has
shown stable hiring intentions for the second quarter in the UK.
This year, the Net Employment Outlook or balance of employers planning
to take on staff is at +16%, the year before it was at +17%, likewise
in Q2 2002 and Q2 2001. We’re also hearing anecdotal evidence
from employers that whilst they are voicing their intent to hire,
they often find it hard to find suitable candidates with the right
skills and qualities to fill a number of these vacancies.“
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey provides a forecast of employer
hiring intentions for the quarter ahead: April to June 2004. 2,500
UK employers were surveyed in the UK and over 35,000 employers in
19 countries globally. The Net Employment Outlook¹ for the
UK in Q2 is +16%, calculated from the 5% of employers planning to
decrease staffing levels subtracted from the 21% planning to increase
staffing levels. When seasonal variations are taken into account,
the Outlook is +13%.²
Continues Detsiny, “The Learning and Skills Council’s
recent survey showed that half of employers who reported having
vacancies said that at least one of these vacancies was hard to
fill. With unemployment rates the lowest since 1984*, companies
are going to have to attract staff through top class benefit programmes
as well as invest in their workforces through training and development
programmes to retain existing talent.”
Across the UK, all of the nine industry sectors surveyed by Manpower
are planning to take on staff next quarter. Community and Social
sector, which includes job prospects in health and education, is
reporting a particularly optimistic hiring outlook, with a Net outlook
of +20%. According to Detsiny, whilst employers in this sector have
the highest hiring intentions they also have a high proportion of
hard to fill vacancies.
The Hotel and Retail sector – a good indicator of employment
levels affected by the tourism industry - continues to produce strong
results with a Net outlook of +16%. This result is up on the average
reported by employers in the sector, for the last 13 years. The
Manufacturing sector, with employers reporting a Net Employment
Outlook of +4%, suggests that recent reports of a recovery are not
translating into employment.
Employers in all of the twelve regions surveyed intend to take on
more staff for the quarter ahead. Employers in the West Midlands
are most optimistic reporting a Net Employment Outlook of +32%.
Conversely, employers in the East Midlands reported a more conservative
forecast with a Net Outlook of +8% suggesting an East/West divide
for jobs in the Midlands. Following the West Midlands is the South
West (+27%), Scotland (+24%), Northern Ireland (+20%) and Wales
(+19%). Employers in London are least optimistic of those surveyed,
together with those in the East, with Net Employment Outlooks of
+7%.
Of the 11 European countries surveyed, all except Germany (-4%),
reported positive hiring intentions. The strongest forecasts in
Europe are from employers in Sweden (+17%) followed by the UK and
then Austria (+11%). German employers predict that they will be
reducing rather than adding to their payrolls. However, this quarter’s
results do mark a considerable improvement for the German labour
market from three months ago (up 10 points from –14%).
Looking at the results from a global level, 18 of the 19 countries
surveyed by Manpower are anticipating positive Employment Outlooks
for the three months ahead. Newcomer to the survey, New Zealand
(+39%), reported the most buoyant forecasts followed by Canada (+24%),
the United States (+22%) and Japan (+20%).
Comments Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc.:
“This quarter’s survey results suggest that we have
reached the inflection point for the labour market to gain some
long-awaited momentum, and that employers across many countries
are reaching this point simultaneously. This reflects the growing
synchronization of our interdependent economies.”
- 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 (21%) - % decrease (5%)
= 16%]
²Seasonally adjusted figures are those that have been modified
to take into account variations in figures that can occur due to
the seasons, i.e. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
Commentary and full details on every sector and region can found
in the survey report at www.manpower.co.uk or by calling the Press
Office on 020 8870 2214 / jeremy@saltlondon.com;
nicky@saltlondon.com
For international comparisons and visual library with graphs, visit
www.manpower.com
About the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey
Manpower is a leading recruiter of permanent, temporary and contract
workforces, employing around 100,000 people in the UK each year.
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 35,000 interviews collectively across 18 countries worldwide.
See www.manpower.com
for global reports.
About Manpower
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.
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.
