Overview of global recruitment trends
Antal International questioned 9,672 companies in 55 countries around the world on whether they were currently hiring at the professional and managerial level. They were also asked whether they planned to do so in the coming quarter and whether they were currently letting staff go or were planning to do so in the next three months.
The snapshot found that current hiring across the globe was up from 53% of respondents at the beginning of the year to 54% now. The percentage of organisations intending to hire in the coming quarter was up from 55% to 58%.
Percentages of companies intending to shed staff had fallen slightly from 28% in the autumn to 22% now. However, the general consensus was that this figure would drop to 25% over the coming quarter.
Western Europe - recruitment snapshot
In Western Europe, the highest current hiring levels were in the UK with 60% of companies hiring, then France at 53%, and Germany with 41%. However, many of the smaller countries bettered their larger neighbours, namely Belgium with 66%, the Netherlands at 63% and Switzerland showing 60%.The lowest levels of hiring were in Luxembourg at 29% and Malta at just 6%. It was notable that more countries in Western Europe had experienced a drop in hiring levels than in any other geographic region.
Recruitment overview - Eastern Europe
In the Eastern European and Eurasian region, the highest recruiting levels were in Russia (66%), the Czech Republic (61%), Romania (50%), Poland (47%) and Bulgaria (47%).Hungarys recent economic problems meant that it had the lowest level of hiring in the region with only 19% of businesses questioned actively seeking new managers or professionals.
Africa and Middle East - employment statistics
In Africa, the highest level of recruitment was registered in Egypt at 75%. Hiring in Nigeria has dropped to 52% from 79% at the beginning of the year and in South Africa from 49% to 39%.Saudi Arabia registered the highest level of recruitment with an astonishing 74% of companies hiring. However the UAE appeared to have staged something of a recovery with hiring up from 51% at the beginning of the year to 62% now.
Recruitment in Asia
Companies across Asia were questioned and it was found that hiring levels have risen very slightly in China from 71% recorded in January to 72% now, and employers appear to be confident about recruitment plans for the coming quarter with 73% of businesses planning to increase headcount.The percentage of organisations in China shedding staff at professional and managerial level has dropped markedly from 25% to just 17%. In India, hiring levels have risen from 71% to 73% and look set to jump to 77% in the coming quarter.
Recruitment highs and lows - Americas
Moving onto the Americas, our findings mirrored the recent figures published by the US Labor Department which show that, while the number of jobs in the US economy is climbing, so is the number of unemployed.It found that the percentage of companies hiring managers and professionals is up from 56% in January to 63% now, rising to 66% in the coming quarter.
However, the percentage of businesses shedding staff is also up from just 29% at the beginning of the year to 37% in May. The hiring of managers and professionals in Brazil is up markedly from 50% at the beginning of the year to 65% now and is set to rise again over the next three months.
Which sectors are recruiting?
Overall, the global picture showed the sectors with the highest levels of recruitment at professional and managerial level were, in order; banking, engineering, FMCG, IT software and then manufacturing.The lowest levels of hiring activity were in shipbuilding and then music and entertainment, and airlines.
Are we entering a war for talent?
Until recently, Antal International would have hesitated to suggest that a genuine and sustained recovery is underway, wary of the fact that more unpleasant surprises might still be announced by the banking community.
However, the fact that this industry now tops the list of the worlds most active sectors gives them the confidence to predict that a double dip recession is now unlikely to take place.
As a result the nascent war for talent that has already broken out is likely to become fiercer over the next few months, as the most forward-thinking businesses snap up the people who will enable them to secure best advantage in improving markets.