Planned hiring is down slightly around the world compared with last year, but for companies envisioning growth, a hefty percentage project they will add workers in the final three months of the year.
That’s according to a new survey from ManpowerGroup, which polled more than 40,000 employers globally in July.
Nearly 40% of employers planning to hire in the fourth quarter reported that their companies are expanding in size, creating more jobs. Some of those employers believe staff increases will help them keep up to date with technological advancements.
Overall, hiring expectations have weakened by 2 percentage points since last year and by 1 percentage point since the previous quarter. Employers that expect to slow hiring in the fourth quarter cite concerns about economic uncertainty (33%) and potential challenges adapting to market changes (25%).
For employers with stronger intentions to hire in the final three months of the year, company growth and expansion is the main catalyst for staff increase (39%) followed by new ventures and new roles (29%), the survey found. Nearly one in four (24%) are planning to increase hiring to keep pace with emerging developments in technology. This is particularly true for organisations in Asia-Pacific (APAC).
Regionally, employers in the United Arab Emirates (45%), India (40%), and Brazil (36%) have the strongest growth outlooks for Q4. Additionally, APAC employers have the strongest hiring intentions (30%).
UK planned hiring drops sharply
UK respondents reported the biggest drop in year-on-year planned hiring, declining 17 percentage points (followed by Singapore, Hungary, and Finland, which all fell 9 percentage points).
“The labour market has been moving at an almost glacial pace for months, and while there remains some movement in roles for the highly skilled, we’re very far off the +30% hiring outlooks we saw in early 2022,” ManpowerGroup UK Director Petra Tagg said in a news release about the survey. “Employers are weighing recruitment investment against the need to drive efficiency through AI and automation.”
According to the latest data from KPMG UK and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, permanent and temporary candidate numbers in the UK rose to levels recorded in late 2020, and the reduction in demand for staff was the steepest recorded in six months.
Employers are struggling to plug talent gaps
Despite a global slowdown in hiring across sectors, the majority of employers (67%) surveyed by ManpowerGroup feel confident their hiring process effectively selects the right people for the right roles. However, 46% said their organisation’s biggest talent acquisition challenge was attracting qualified candidates, followed by problems filling complex technical roles (29%), the survey said.
Related to talent retention, people-centric leadership is a vital ingredient for employee loyalty. Respondents listed work/life balance (39%), schedule flexibility (34%), and employee recognition (33%) as the most effective initiatives for keeping talent on board.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.