SME EMPLOYERS PREDICT HIRING
DRIVE IN 2004
Manpower Employment Outlook Survey
Employers in Small to Medium Sized Enterprises
(SMEs) are expressing considerably more optimism than large businesses
as to their hiring intentions for early 2004, according to Manpower,
the UK’s leading workforce management company.
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 Net Employment Outlook¹ (the balance
of employers forecasting to take on more staff) average for the
UK in Q1 is +9%. Employers in small and medium sized businesses
forecast a net outlook of +17% and +11% respectively. The net outlook
for larger companies stands at +2%.
Comments Hazel Detsiny, director at Manpower: “Whilst we’re
seeing general employment confidence amongst UK employers, it’s
employers amongst small and medium sized companies who are predicting
the greatest growth and helping to drive overall employer confidence.
Small businesses play an important role in driving growth in the
British economy and this, combined with our own experience at Manpower
of providing more workers to SMEs, is an encouraging sign.”
Employer optimism is not the only positive indicator from SMEs for
the forthcoming year. In a recent report by Tenon, the nationwide
accountants and business advisers, 84% of small to medium sized
enterprises feel positive with regards to their own business prospects
over the next 12 months, and of whom 29% are very positive².
Nigel Griffiths, Minister for Small Business and Enterprise, comments:
"I'm very pleased about the optimism of SMEs in the UK. Small
businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and employ over 12 million
people. This survey confirms that the Government is creating the
right conditions for small firms to thrive.
"The Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report reaffirmed our commitment
to enterprise and our support for small firms by cutting regulation,
offering more incentives for businesses to grow and simplifying
VAT for millions of small firms.
John Emmins, FSB National Chairman, adds: "From small firms
come growth, wealth and innovation. Now we also know that from next
year small firms will again outstrip larger companies in the job
creation stakes."
Manpower takes its responsibility as the direct employer of all
staff very 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 to IT, to all
those working through Manpower.
- 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.
² Tenon Forum survey on Entrepreneurial Britain, published
3 December 2003
Employer confidence by size of company:
Micro companies (1 - 9 employees) = +3%
Small companies (10 - 49) = +17%
Medium companies (50 - 199 employees) = +11%
Large companies (200+) = +2%.
Size Increase Decrease No change Net outlook
Micro 12 9 79 +3
Small 25 8 67 +17
Medium 27 16 57 +11
Large 21 19 60 +2
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.
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
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