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Continued Employer Confidence despite Brexit and Trump Concerns

Published on: 14 Mar 2017


The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is the world’s most extensive, forward-looking employment survey, polling over 58,000 employers in 42 countries & territories. In Ireland the  survey is conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 620 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 June 2017 as compared to the current quarter?”

Irish employers are expecting to increase staffing levels across all industry sectors during the second quarter of 2017. The figures show that employers are reporting a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +6% for April to June 2017, a more optimistic forecast when compared to the first quarter of the year.
Key findings from the report include:

  • Transport, Storage & Communication employers report a net employment outlook of +23% for the second quarter of 2017, which represents an increase of 33 percentage points of the previous quarter.

 

  • Electricity, Gas & Water employers are reporting strong hiring intentions for Q2 2017 with an employment outlook of +14%. The outlook remains relatively stable quarter over quarter. 

 

  • Employers in the Manufacturing sector are reporting cautious hiring pace for Q2 2017. Hiring intentions weaken both quarter -over - quarter and year - over - year, declining by 7 and 12 percentage points, respectively. 

 

  • The Finance & Business Services employers report a net employment outlook of +5%, a 2 percentage point increase on the previous quarter. 

 

  • Restaurant & Hotels sector employers are forecasting a steady hiring pace with a net employment outlook of +13%. Hiring plans improve by 8 percentage points quarter over quarter. 

 

  • Employers in the Pharmaceutical sector are reporting a net employment outlook of +2%, the weakest labour market in two years is anticipated in the coming quarter. 

 

  • Regionally, employers in Dublin report the strongest hiring intentions of all provinces polled, with an outlook of +7%, up 3 percentage points on the same period last year.

 

  • The hiring pace in Connaught is expected to decline considerably with employers reporting an outlook of -3%, down 13 percentage points on the same period last year. 

 “Despite ongoing uncertainty associated with Brexit and Trump Irish employers are committed to continued investment in their workforces which we have seen in our MEOS report for Q2 2017.” John Galvin, Head of Sales, ManpowerGroup Ireland.