Which industries have the strongest hiring intentions?
Measured hiring will continue for many businesses across the world this coming fourth quarter, as hiring intentions in more than 40 countries remained positive.
The ManpowerGroup Employer Outlook Survey of 2023 revealed that Net Employment Outlooks (NEO) across all 41 countries ranged from +11% to +41%.
"The data for Q4 reveals employers continue to plan measured hiring despite economic uncertainties," said ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jonas Prising in a media release.
According to the report, employers said they are open to hiring job candidates who:
- Are older and seeking employment changes (34%)
- Have been unemployed due to caretaking responsibilities (27%)
- Have non-linear career paths (27%)
- Are long-term unemployed (26%)
They are also looking for candidates with the following key soft skills:
- Communication, collaboration, and teamwork (39%)
- Accountability and reliability (33%)
- Reasoning and problem-solving (29%)
- Active learning and curiosity (23%)
- Resilience, stress tolerance, and adaptability (23%)
Hiring intentions per nation, region
By country, the strongest hiring intentions were reported in Costa Rica (+41%), Brazil (+38%), and Switzerland (+38%). Least optimistic outlooks were reported in Argentina, Czech Republic, and Japan, which all reported +11%.
By region, employers in North America reported the most optimistic hiring intentions with +35%, according to the report. For other regions, hiring intentions also remained positive at:
- Asia-Pacific (+32%)
- Central and South America (+31%)
- Europe, Middle East, and Africa (+25%)
Meanwhile, the following industries reported the strongest hiring intentions:
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- IT (39%)
- Financials and Real Estate (33%)
- Communication Services (31%)
- Health Care & Life Sciences (31%)
- Energy & Utilities (31%)
"Globally, employers are beginning to moderate their hiring post-pandemic with many focused-on recruiting and retaining the business-critical skills they need to drive growth," Prising said.
Drivers of workforce productivity
In terms of encouraging productivity at work, employers said professional development through training, upskilling, and reskilling is the top driver (40%).
Other drivers include having clear goals and objectives for staff (37%) and cultivating a positive work culture that includes performance recognition (36%).
"Those who emphasize upskilling, reskilling, flexibility, and culture will be most competitive in still-tight labour markets," Prising said. "As transformation accelerates - from generative AI to the green transition - investing in people remains key for companies to build resilience and agility moving forward."