Saturday, May 15, 2010
ONE in three firms surveyed say they are hiring right now, with three quarters believing the worst of the economic downturn is over.
Just two out of five workers are now worried about job security, compared with almost four out of five early last year.
The findings are revealed in a survey conducted by Berkley Recruitment which shows a continued improvement in market optimism as people’s sentiment starts returning to more positive levels.
Almost half of Irish respondents said they had been affected by the volcanic ash crisis, either by a loss of business or delivery delays.
Managing director of Berkley Group, Fergal Brosnan, said with quarter one up more than 220% in terms of numbers of placements by Berkley compared to Q1 in 2009, the activity levels of companies has continued to show resilience and the double dip that some commentators feared has not come to pass.
"The survey at a global level shows a consistency of trends, however Ireland is showing more signs of realism in terms of salary expectations and flexibility. This will help in real hard numbers improving competitiveness in the Irish context.
"When we look at Ireland on the global league it does appear we are behind in most sentiments of positivity, but we are heading in the right direction.
"We can only conclude that companies continue to get back to a normal level of business and that job seekers are tracking this positive news," he said.
Globally, the highest figures for companies hiring were from firms in Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, China and Singapore, ranging from 71.4% to 67.8%.
The survey showed 72% of Irish respondents felt the global downturn was either over the worst, near the end or over, compared to 14% in the first quarter of 2009.
Asian countries showed the biggest upswing when asked if the downturn was getting worse, with no respondents in China and 12% in Singapore saying it was.
In Ireland, two thirds of people are more flexible on salary expectations, an indication of the realism of the Irish workforce, said Mr Brosnan
"We predict that this figure will decrease in future surveys this year as positive sentiment turns into job re-creation," he added.
Another indicator that the jobs market is improving is respondents’ feedback on how business is going in their company now, compared to 12 months ago. In Ireland almost 64% felt it is the same or better, compared with 49% in Q1 last year.
Global trends mirrored Ireland, with 77% of British workers positive. The least positive was France at 62%.
The survey, which was conducted two weeks ago, analysed responses from 1,769 Irish workers.
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 73385.