One-in-six employers plan to cut staff

CLOSE to one in six employers surveyed said they plan to cut staff in the first three months of next year.

Ireland is one of the worst performing locations in the world when it comes to hiring expectations, according to the latest Manpower employment outlook survey.

This is the sixth consecutive quarter where employers have reported negative hiring activity.

Ireland’s net employment outlook for the next three months to the end of March 2010 is -11%, the weakest hiring forecast globally along with Spain (-11%) and Romania (-11%). The net employment outlook is calculated by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in total employment and subtracting from the percentage expecting to see a decrease.

Outlooks in eight of the 11 industry sectors are weaker compared with the same time last year, according to the survey of 620 employers.

Employers in the electricity, gas and water, pharmaceutical, wholesale and retail sectors reported the least optimistic hiring intentions since the survey began.

The regional Irish labour market is expected to be strongest in Ulster where the outlook is unchanged quarter-over-quarter and employers in Leinster forecast the country’s weakest regional hiring pace.

Managing director of Manpower Ireland, Krissie Davies, said: “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.”

Employers in the construction sector reported a gloomy outlook of -23% for the second consecutive quarter, although the forecast represents an 11% increase year on year.

Employment forecasts are most favourable in India (+39%), Brazil (+31%) and Singapore (+26%).

Globally, hiring activity is expected to be mostly positive throughout the Asia Pacific and the Americas.