17pc of Irish employers to cut staff in New Year

The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which is released quarterly and measures the intentions of  620 Irish employers to increase or decrease their workforce over the next three months, reveals that between January and March of next year Irish employers are considering staff cuts in 10 of 11 industry sectors and across all five of the regions surveyed.

With a net employment outlook of -11pc, Ireland now has the weakest hiring forecasts globally along with Spain (-11pc) and Romania (also -11pc).

With the exception of the public & social industry sector, where the net employment outlook is a flat 0pc, negative hiring activity is reported by employers in every other Irish industry sector.

Employers in the electricity, gas & water (-11pc), pharmaceutical (-14pc) and wholesale & retail trade (-15pc) industry sectors report the least optimistic hiring intentions since the survey began.

Employers in the construction sector report a gloomy outlook of -23pc for the second consecutive quarter, although the forecast represents a considerable 11pc increase year-over-year.

Of the 11 industry sectors surveyed, the hiring intentions amongst pharmaceutical sector employers have seen the most dramatic decline, falling a staggering 14pc and 16pc quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, respectively, to the current figure of -14pc.

The regional Irish labour market is expected to be strongest in Ulster (-6pc) where the outlook is unchanged quarter-over-quarter, while employers in Leinster (-20pc) forecast the country’s weakest regional hiring pace. Dublin has an outlook of -7pc.

Global competition
“The net employment outlook across the Irish labour market suggests that employers expect the first three months of the year to be challenging. However, as more positive trends are reported in the Americas and the EMEA regions, Irish businesses will have to maintain production and quality levels while competing with companies operating in low-cost economies, before national demand increases and strengthens again,” said Krissie Davies, Managing Director of Manpower Ireland.

“Flexibility, innovation and creativity are required to achieve this balance; this is where talent and workforce management, when strategically addressed and planned, prove to be critical to success," she added.

Meanwhile, US employers are more optimistic than three months ago, but are still forecasting the weakest first-quarter hiring pace since 1982.

In contrast, job seekers across most of the Asia Pacific region should start the New Year with employment opportunities similar to those seen prior to the global recession, with Indian employers reporting the strongest hiring plans globally.

Employment prospects in the Americas remain muted but are generally improved from three months ago.

Worldwide, employment forecasts are more favourable in India (+39pc), Brazil (+31pc), Singapore (+26pc), Taiwan (+25pc), Costa Rica (+20pc), Australia (+19pc) and Peru (+19pc).