US employers reported the hiring outlook remains strong for the second quarter, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today by ManpowerGroup Inc. (NYSE: MAN). The US ranked among the strongest outlooks for hiring among 44 countries surveyed in the report. Other countries with strong hiring outlooks included Croatia, Taiwan, Japan and Hungary.
They survey included more than 59,000 employers around the world.
“We are seeing optimism from employers in many countries across the world as the near-term global economic outlook is increasingly positive,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO. “Sustained positive hiring intentions combined with the ongoing impact of technology across all industries mean companies will need to find new ways of upskilling the workforce to help fill vacancies. This must happen at speed and scale. Businesses that are able to find the right balance of technology, talent and human connection will be those that will succeed in this Skills Revolution.”
In the US, ManpowerGroup’s survey found 23% of the more than 11,500 US employers surveyed plan to increase staff in the second quarter, but only 3% plan to decrease, yielding a seasonally adjusted net employment outlook of 18%.
US organizations plan to add staff across all 13 industry sectors in in the second quarter. Employers report the strongest hiring intentions in leisure and hospitality, up 28%. The outlook for professional and business services is also strong, up 24%. And employers in wholesale and retail trade report some of the most optimistic outlooks in more than 16 years as online retail continues to grow and the increase in distribution workers is expected to rise. Hiring intentions were up 23% for the last group.
“We’re seeing solid, demand-fueled growth across the US as the economy continues to strengthen and the labor market tightens at pace,” said Becky Frankiewicz, president of ManpowerGroup North America. “The competition for skilled talent is set to heat up and a just-in-time approach isn’t always getting employers the skills they need when they need them. Now is the time to invest in people by upskilling America’s workers. We should also seek untapped talent sources with adjacent skill sets that can adapt to fill in-demand positions.”
All regions in the US reported positive second-quarter hiring plans. Hiring prospects year over year are slightly stronger in the Midwest and the Northeast, while employers in the South and the West report relatively stable hiring intentions when compared with the second quarter of 2017.
Employers in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Alaska, Maine and Colorado report the strongest net employment outlooks.
ManpowerGroup’s employment outlook survey includes responses from more than 11,500 US employers.
Canadian Outlook
Meanwhile, Canadian employers report the strongest hiring plans since 2011, with employers in the public administration sector reporting the strongest hiring prospects, according to ManpowerGroup’s data for Canada. The Canada survey found 20% of employers expect to increase staffing levels and 3% anticipate cutbacks. This results in a net employment outlook of 14% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the strongest reported in more than six years. The second-quarter outlook is up two percentage points from the outlook for the previous quarter and seven percentage points from the outlook reported for the same quarter of the prior year.
“The second quarter of 2018 is expected to see steady gains for Canadian job seekers,” said Darlene Minatel, country manager for ManpowerGroup Canada. “While Canada experienced a net loss of jobs in January, the employers we surveyed are forecasting varying levels of job gains across all industry sectors, regions and organization-size categories. Prospects for the upcoming quarter remain strong, led by exceptionally strong growth in Quebec where employers are hiring across multiple sectors.”
ManpowerGroup’s employment outlook survey data include responses from 1,936 Canadian employers.