Czech Employers Report Cautiously Optimistic Hiring Plans FOR 4Q 2016

Prague, 13th September – ManpowerGroup Czech Republic releases today results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2016.

Czech employers report encouraging signs for job seekers in the upcoming quarter. Of the more than 750 employers who participated in the survey, 9% forecast an increase in fourth-quarter staffing levels, 2% anticipate a decrease and 86% expect no change. Once seasonal variations are removed from the data, the Net Employment Outlook is +7%.

Czech employers forecast the strongest hiring pace for more than eight years. Hiring plans improve by 3 and 6 percentage points from 3Q 2016 and 4Q 2015, respectively.

Outlooks improve in five industry sectors and two regions when compared with the previous quarter, while employers in eight sectors and all three regions report stronger hiring prospects year-over-year.

“Actually, the labour market has changed a lot in the last year in favor of job seekers. Net employment outlook for Q4 is strongest last quarter in the history of the survey in the Czech Republic. Demand significantly exceeds supply, and in the big cities and industrial areas companies report critical lack of workers, assuming those workers have the skills employers are looking for. Employers are expecting to hire, but they need the talent that can help them from the start, and the supply for this talent is tight. The main driving force of this recovery is the automotive sector, as they provide positions in their own factory or positions of their subcontractors. We are also seeing huge recruitment efforts in logistic and call centers across the Czech Republic. The tight talent supply is forcing employers to try and use new HR strategies. They are modifying reward systems and benefits, organizing manufacturing in different way, using part-times and flexible forms of employment more often, and engaging in recruitment in distant regions, even abroad. On the other hand in some regions there is still high unemployment. To overcome this disproportion will be the big challenge for state, companies and individuals,” said Jaroslava Rezlerová, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup Czech Republic.

Industry sector comparisons

Employer optimism rebounds slightly, and the outlook is now stronger than at any point since 2Q 08 with positive forecasts reported in eight of 10 industry sectors and all three regions. Electricity, Gas & Water Supply sector employers report the strongest of the 10 sector Outlooks for the fourth consecutive quarter (+14%). The Outlook remains relatively stable quarter-over-quarter and improves by a steep margin of 30 percentage points year-over-year. The Outlook for the Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services sector (+13%) matches the strongest ever forecast for the sector, last reported the first time the survey was conducted (2Q 2008). The Outlook improves both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, by 4 percentage points and 9 percentage points, respectively. The weakest sector Outlook of -6% is reported in the Mining & Quarrying sector. However, hiring plans remain relatively stable quarter-over-quarter and improve by 4 percentage points when compared with 4Q 2015.

Regional comparisons

Moravia employers report the most optimistic of the three regional Outlooks (+11%). Also the strongest in the region since the survey started, the Outlook improves by 6 and 10 percentage points from 3Q 2016 and 4Q 2015, respectively. Employers in Bohemia report the weakest hiring prospects across the three regions with an Outlook of +4%. Hiring plans are unchanged when compared with 3Q 2016 but improve by 3 percentage points year-over-year.

Organization Size Comparisons

Payrolls are forecast to grow in all four organization size categories during the October-December time frame, most notably with an Outlook of +22% for Large employers. The most cautious Outlook of +7% is reported by Micro employers.

Global overview

Staffing levels are expected to grow by varying degrees in 42 of 43 countries and territories through the end of the year. Only employers in Brazil expect payrolls to decline in the October-December time frame. Uncertainty associated with the slowdown of the global economy, the Brexit referendum and continued financial market volatility appears to have had little impact on employer hiring confidence. Slightly more than half of the forecasts strengthen by varying margins when compared to results reported three months ago, with hiring plans improving in 23 of 43 countries and territories, remaining unchanged in nine, and declining in 11. Outlooks improve in 21 countries and territories when compared with Quarter 4 2015, are unchanged in six, and decline in 15. Hiring confidence is strongest in India, Japan, Taiwan and the United States, while employers in Brazil, Belgium, Finland, Italy and Switzerland report the weakest hiring plans.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey results will be published on 13th December 2017.

About the Survey

This survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. The Czech Republic is one of 43 countries and territories participating in the quarterly measurement of employer hiring intentions. The survey for Quarter 4 2016 was conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 750 employers in the Czech Republic and asking the same question: “How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the three months to the end of December 2016 as compared to the current quarter?”

The global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey has been running more than 50 years, and uses a validated methodology in accordance with the highest standards in market research. This survey helps to identify the hiring intentions of both regional and industry sector employers, and facilitates preparation for labor market pressures.

The global leader in innovative workforce solutions, ManpowerGroup releases the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the longest running, most extensive, forward-looking employment survey in the world, polling nearly 59,000 employers in 43 countries and territories. The survey serves as a bellwether of labor market trends and activities and is regularly used to inform the Bank of England’s Inflation Reports, as well as a regular data source for the European Commission, informing its EU Employment Situation and Social Outlook report the Monthly Monitor. ManpowerGroup’s independent survey data is also sourced by financial analysts and economists around the world to help determine where labor markets are headed.

About ManpowerGroup™

ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN) is the world’s workforce expert, creating innovative workforce solutions for nearly 70 years. As workforce experts, we connect more than 600,000 people to meaningful work across a wide range of skills and industries every day. Through our ManpowerGroup family of brands – Manpower®, Experis®, Right Management® and ManpowerGroup® Solutions – we help more than 400,000 clients in 80 countries and territories address their critical talent needs, providing comprehensive solutions to resource, manage and develop talent. In 2016, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the sixth consecutive year and one of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies, confirming our position as the most trusted and admired brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup makes powering the world of work humanly possible: www.manpowergroup.com.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. This concept of talentism as the new capitalism continues to resonate and was echoed as a core theme of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage.

Gain access to ManpowerGroup’s extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success.

About ManpowerGroup Czech Republic

Through a network of over 35 offices, we provide staff (more than 12,000) for around 1,200 clients. With employment opportunities in the public and private sector, on both a permanent and temporary basis, we make it easy for people to find employment and for companies to find staff with the skills they need. Solutions include permanent and temporary positions, holiday, maternity or sick coverage, through to large workforce transformation and outsourcing contracts.

More information available on www.manpowergroup.cz

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Q4 2016 – Press Release

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Q4 2016 – Brochure