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Manpower Employment Outlook Survey: Ireland’s employers expect to hold steady in the third quarter with 94% expecting no further redundancies


Hiring plans in the Pharmaceutical sector remain positive; pressure on the Construction sector appears to be easing despite ongoing challenges.


Dublin, Tuesday, 14th June 2011 - The latest Manpower Employment Outlook survey reveals that 90 percent of Irish employers surveyed expect no change in their workforce in the third quarter. Nevertheless, hiring activity is expected to remain sluggish. The survey of more than 600 Irish employers, across five regions and 11 industry sectors indicates that the overall employment climate is expected to remain downbeat in the July through September period. Of the polled employers, 4 percent anticipate increased hiring and 5 percent forecast workforce reductions. The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of -4% is relatively stable quarter-over-quarter and is 3 percentage points stronger compared to Quarter 3 2010.

Employers in the Pharmaceutical sector forecast the strongest hiring plans amongst the 11 industry sectors surveyed, with an encouraging Net Employment Outlook of +5%. Although the Construction sector Outlook stands at a flat 0%, this is the first time since the second quarter of 2008 that employers in the sector have not reported negative hiring intentions. The Construction sector Outlook has also climbed 33 percentage points since the bleak forecasts reported in the first quarter of 2009.

Employers in seven of the 11 industry sectors anticipate a decrease in headcount over the next quarter. The Transport, Storage & Communication sector employers report a struggling Net Employment Outlook of -10%, down 8 percentage points from last quarter. Employers in the Restaurants & Hotels sector forecast sagging hiring prospects in the next quarter, with an Outlook of -8%. Downbeat hiring intentions are reported by employers in the Finance & Business Services (-4%), Manufacturing (-4%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (-4%) and Electricity, Gas & Water (-2%) sectors.

Despite the negative numbers, the Net Employment Outlook has improved in six industry sectors quarter-over-quarter. Compared to a year ago, hiring plans are stronger in five industry sectors, notably Construction (up 12 percentage points), Mining & Quarrying (up 11 percentage points), Pharmaceutical (up 9 percentage points) and Public & Social and Agriculture, Fishing & Forestry (both up 7 percentage points).

“Organisations are coping with operational and trading challenges as they progress through the recovery. These results reflect the uncertainty and fluctuations businesses are facing,” commented Krissie Davies, Manpower Ireland Managing Director.

Employers in all five regions report negative hiring plans yet the Outlook is stronger in four of the regions both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. Dublin region employers indicate the weakest Outlook at -5%, which is down by 8 percentage points compared to the second quarter but is 4 percentage points stronger year-over-year. Weak hiring prospects are expected by employers in Munster (-4%), Ulster (-4%), Connaught (-2%) and Leinster (-2%). Noteworthy, the Net Employment Outlook in Connaught is 8 percentage points stronger compared to a year ago.

“We are seeing the fears which paralysed job seekers during the recession, such as last in-first out, being replaced by increased confidence and a growing number of individuals are changing jobs,” said Davies. “Networking both on and offline creates opportunities, which is what the Human Age is about for job seekers: being ready to take advantage of opportunities, to realise one’s potential and ambition.”

In the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, employers report positive hiring intentions in 17 of the 21 countries surveyed with individual Outlooks improving in 13 of 21 countries from three months ago and year-over-year. Hiring expectations are strongest in Turkey (+35%), Romania (+20), Bulgaria (+14%) and Poland (+14%). The weakest hiring intentions are reported by employers in Spain (-10%), Greece (-5%) and Italy (-5%).

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on 13th September 2011 to report hiring expectations for the fourth quarter of 2011. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is available free of charge to the public and can be downloaded from www.manpower.ie.

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About the Survey

An innovative workforce solutions company, ManpowerGroup releases the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the world’s most extensive, forward-looking employment survey, polling over 63,000 employers in 39 countries and territories.

In Ireland, the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 628 Irish employers. All survey participants were asked: “How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the three months to the end of September 2011 as compared to the current quarter?”

The overall ‘Net Employment Outlook is calculated by taking the percentage of employers anticipating total employment to increase and subtracting from this the percentage expecting to see a decrease in employment at their location in the next quarter. This figure is then amended according to any seasonal variations in recruitment patterns as witnessed since the survey began in Ireland in 2002.

About Manpower Ireland

Manpower is the global leader in contingent and permanent recruitment workforce solutions. It is part of ManpowerGroup, the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, which creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness.

With branches in Dublin (Harcourt Street, Dublin South and Dublin West), and Cork, Manpower has provided organisations in Ireland with a suite of staffing solutions for 37 years, working with organisations ranging from small and medium sized enterprises to multinational companies.

In the Human Age, where talent has replaced access to capital as the key competitive differentiator, Manpower Ireland leverages its trusted brand to develop a deep talent pool, providing clients with access to the people they need, fast.

Manpower Ireland creates powerful connections between organisations and the talent they need to enhance their competitiveness and unleash their workforce potential. By creating these powerful connections, we help everybody achieve more than they imagined, and power the world of work.

Learn more about how Manpower Ireland can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpower.ie.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $19 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined — because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Manpower Professional and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at http://www.manpowergroup.com/