Weak Hiring Lies Ahead for Most Markets

June 13, 2012 – Hiring activity is expected to slow in two-thirds of the countries surveyed in the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Report released by ManpowerGroup. The study reveals few clear signs of notable traction in the labor market, and employers are evidently adopting an intermittent hiring approach in response to economic uncertainty both at home and abroad. Bucking the trend, Indian employers posted one of their most optimistic forecasts on record — even though other emerging markets are just beginning to experience weakness in hiring — and U.S. job prospects continue to improve, albeit slowly. The German labor market is expected to lose steam in the quarter ahead after defying the declining trend in Europe for more than a year. “In labor markets around the world, we are seeing companies hire in a start-stop mode with no real consistency. There is no doubt that the ongoing concerns and uncertainty in Europe continue to weigh on the minds of employers in the global labor market and four consecutive quarters of softening in our German data reflect this,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, CEO of ManpowerGroup. “Meanwhile, the U.S. outlook represents two straight years of steady improvement and while we haven't seen meaningful job creation yet, there are more opportunities for job seekers with the right skills.” Additional research shows varying degrees of positive hiring activity with the strongest third-quarter forecasts coming from employers in India, Taiwan, Brazil, Turkey and Singapore. Worldwide, employer hiring expectations are weakest, not surprisingly, in countries requesting EU bailouts: Greece, Ireland, Spain and Italy.