The net employment outlook, calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers who plan to cut staff from the proportion intent on hiring, has halved over the past year, according to the latest ManpowerGroup report.
The net employment outlook stands at +23% for Q1, down 3% from the previous quarter (+26%) and 22% from this time last year (+45%).
Overall, 40% of firms plan to hire, 17% expect staffing to decrease, 41% will keep employment levels steady, and 2% of respondents are undecided.
Companies in the communications sector were the most intent on adding to their workforce at +46%, ahead of financials & real estate firms (+44%), and energy & utilities (+37%).
Consumers goods & services (+7%) and IT (+9%) businesses were the sectors most unsure about hiring in the near future, however, which may not be surprising following hundreds of job cuts in the multinational tech sector in recent months, but all sectors remain hiring net positive.
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Micro organisations with fewer than 10 employees (+41%) twice as optimistic about hiring in the current quarter as small, medium and large organisations (all +21%), with smaller firms taking advantage of restructuring by corporations.
At +38%, an increase of 33 points quarter-on-quarter, businesses in Ulster are notably more intent on hiring than counterparts in other regions -- Dublin (+27%), Connacht (+23%), Leinster (+17%) and Munster (+16%).
“Our report indicates that there are early signs of labour markets softening and hiring intentions moving lower given the economic headwinds we are experiencing," said Jonas Prising, chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup.
"Though employers say they are beginning to dial down their hiring plans in some areas, we still see strong demand for specific skills including IT, logistics, and finance.
"Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, and a depreciation in real-time wages, companies need to think more than ever about attracting and retaining their workers – that might start with pay, yet our data tells us flexibility, career development, and purpose-driven work is worth up to 5% of salary to many workers.
"There are lots of levers available for companies to attract and retain the talent they need to stay competitive.”
Ireland's net employment outlook is middling when compared to the other 40 countries surveyed for the report, placing 20 out of 41. Only Poland (-2%) and Hungary (-8%) plan to reduce their workforces overall.
Panama (+39%), Costa Rica (+35%) and Canada (+34%) had the strongest hiring outlooks for Q1, with Singapore (+19%), Panama (+4% and Costa Rica (+3%) improving their outlooks the most year-on-year.
On a quarterly basis, net hiring intention improved in just 12 countries, led by Greece (+9%) and Austria (+6%), with Ireland 3% decline coming in line with Germany, Italy, Slovakia and Hungary.
(Pic: Getty Images)
