The Great Hiring Bounceback Continues: Employers Globally Report Optimistic Employment Outlooks for Q1 2022

  • All countries and territories report a positive employment outlook for the first time since the pandemic began
  • The strongest hiring prospects are reported in Peru, India and The Netherlands. The weakest – though still positive – are reported by employers in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore*
  • Employers are recognizing the need for better work-life blend, offering more flexibility in roles from Customer Service to Finance and Manufacturing

Global employer confidence continues to return as we head into the new year finds the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlooks Survey of more than 39,000 employers. Employers in 36 of 40 countries report stronger hiring intentions than the previous quarter with greatest demand for IT talent and hospitality workers. Organizations are also offering more flexibility to overcome talent shortages with employers across all sectors preparing a shift to hybrid working as a pathway to even more flexible working options in the longer term.

KEY FINDINGS SUMMARY

  • Employers know flexibility is the key to attracting workers in a tight labor market. Organizations expect 51% of roles within the finance sector and 29% of the production workforce to work flexibly in 2022. This ranges from offering 100% home working options for knowledge workers to schedule flexibility in manufacturing – with shorter shift patterns to accommodate caring responsibilities.
  • All countries and territories report positive hiring outlooks for the first time since the pandemic began Though outlooks improve year-over-year, hiring sentiment weakens compared with Q4 2021 in Taiwan, the U.S., Japan and France.
  • Professional Services are hiring most with Digital roles most in high demand: IT, Communications and Media professionals are most in demand globally (+50%), followed by Banking, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (+43%) and Restaurants and Hotels (+40%). The weakest hiring intentions are reported by employers in Not-for-Profit (+26%) and Primary Production (+29%).

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“The post-pandemic hiring recovery that has been underway for some time will continue to carry momentum into 2022 with employers predicting strong demand for talent across key sectors,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chairman & CEO. “Companies all over the world need skilled workers to meet their business objectives and fully participate in the economic global recovery.  Talent shortages continue and employers are competing with a talent pool that has not full returned to labor markets due to the pandemic.  Organizations need to embrace bold thinking on where, when, and how work gets done to meet what workers want while balancing the requirements of business.”

PREDICTIONS SERIES 2022

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Global Hiring Plans by Region

Americas: Employers in both the U.S (+41%) and Canada (+37%) expect optimistic hiring levels for Q1 2022.

  • Employers in the U.S. report positive hiring intentions despite a five percentage point decline from last quarter. Year-over-year, the U.S. improves 26 percentage points and Canada 32.
  • With an employment outlook of +60%, employers in the North America IT sector report the strongest hiring intentions, the weakest are reported in the Not-for-Profit sector including NGOs and charity organizations (+29%).
  • In the LATAM region, hiring sentiment strengthens in all eight countries when compared with the previous quarter. The strongest hiring plans in the region are reported in Peru (+51%), followed by Brazil (+47%) and Mexico (+45%).

EMEA:  Hiring intentions improve in 22 countries and decline in one compared with Q4, 2020 (France -1%).

  • The strongest regional hiring plans are reported in Ireland (+47%), Portugal (+37%), and The Netherlands (+47%), while employers make the weakest forecasts in the Czech Republic (+14%), Greece (+16%) and Hungary (+19%).
  • Employers in the UK report an optimistic outlook of +32% with employers in London planning the most optimistic hiring.
  • The employment outlook in France improved 24 points year-over-year and dropped 2 points on last quarter. Employers in the French Banking, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sectors report the strongest outlooks, the weakest are reported in Manufacturing and Restaurants and Hotels.

APAC: Hiring sentiment strengthens in 5 countries and territories quarter-on-quarter while weakening in two; Singapore and Taiwan.

  • The strongest hiring prospects are reported in India (+49%), followed by Australia (+37%) and Hong Kong (+37%), while the weakest regional labor market is expected in Japan (+11%), Taiwan (+13%) and Singapore (+14%) – the three weakest globally.
  • Emerging from the national lockdowns of the past few months, employers in Australia predict a strong outlook of +37% growing by 25-percentage points since the last quarter.
  • China boasts a strong outlook of +25% In the first quarter of 2022 with Education, Health, Social Work and Government reporting the most positive hiring outlooks (+49%).

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