ManpowerGroup: Modest employment prospects for Greek employers

According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Prospects Survey, 515 Greek employers record modest employment prospects in the next quarter from April to June, as a result of the Total Employment Prospects (NEO), which amount to + 3%. 29% of employers expect an increase in the number of employees, 26% predict a reduction and 41% predict no change.

• The Total Employment Prospects for the 2nd quarter of 2022 are set at + 3%, in terms of the NET index, while the Seasonally Adjusted Employment Prospects are set at -2%.
• On a quarterly basis, recruitment intentions are weakened in 20 countries in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, while support is recorded in 2 countries with Belgium maintaining its own recruitment intentions.
• The strongest recruitment rate is recorded in the Industry / Production sector, while the employers in the Construction sector expect a moderate recruitment rate.

History of Overall Employment Prospects in Greece

From this point on, the comments are based on seasonally adjusted data.

“The results of the research reflect that Greek employers appear for the next quarter, particularly cautious regarding recruitment plans,” comments Charalambos Kazantzidis, CEO of ManpowerGroup Greece. The ManpowerGroup Employment Prospects Survey for the 2nd quarter of 2022 was conducted from January 1st to February 7th, a time period that reflects the consequences of the 1st lockdown and the unprecedented 2020 recession with the ‘freezing’ of investments, the “Rising inflation, the imbalance between supply and demand in the energy sector, the uncontrolled competition in the regional gas markets and the geopolitical ‘games’ that have shaped the difficult situation in Russia-Ukraine relations.”

Comparisons by Sector of Economic Activity / Comparisons by geographical regions

Those looking for work in Greece expect a reduction in recruitment intentions for the nine (9) of the eleven (11) sectors, compared to the last quarter. Industry / Production is the sector with the best performance with recruiters recording Total Employment Prospects at + 26%. Compared to the previous quarter, those looking for employment in this sector expect a reduction of the Total Employment Prospects by seven (7) percentage points and an increase of twenty (20) points compared to the 2nd quarter of 2021. For the 2nd quarter of 2022 The weakest market is expected in the Construction sector, with recruiters recording Overall Employment Prospects at -13%. In this sector, the recruitment intentions are expected to decrease by a large percentage (-41%) compared to the previous quarter.

In two (2) of the three (3) Greek geographical regions, the recruiters expect a reduction of recruitments during the next quarter. The region with the strongest recruitment intentions is the Rest of Greece (in contrast to the Greater Attica Region and Northern Greece), with recruiters recording Total Employment Prospects of + 10%. Recording overall employment prospects -9%, recruiters in Northern Greece expect the lowest employment prospects in the 2nd quarter of 2022.

International Comparisons

Based on the seasonally adjusted analysis *, the strongest recruitment intentions for the period from April to June are recorded in Brazil, Sweden, India, Colombia and Mexico. At the same time, employers in Greece, Poland, Japan, Romania and Taiwan expect the weakest recruitment activity in the coming quarter.

Compared to the previous quarter, employers report enhanced employment prospects in six (6) of the forty (40) countries and territories. Singapore and South Africa expect enhanced employment prospects while recruitment intent is weakening in 33 of 43 countries, particularly Romania, Argentina and Turkey. In Belgium the intention remains unchanged at + 34%, as in the previous quarter.

The number of employees is expected to increase in twenty two (22) countries in the region of Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA) in the next quarter. Greek employers expect a small reduction. On a quarterly basis, recruitment intent is weakened in twenty (20) countries, strengthened in two (2) and remains stable in Belgium. Compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, weakest labor markets are expected in Greece, Poland and Romania. Finally, recruitment activity is expected to be stronger in Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The next ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey will be published on June 14, 2022, with information on recruitment expectations for the third quarter of 2022.

About the Research

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey for the 2nd quarter of 2022 was conducted from 1 January to 7 February 2022 at more than 41,379 employers in 40 countries and territories, including private companies and public bodies.

The survey included analysis of data obtained in response to a single question:
“How do you expect the total number of people employed in your area of ​​responsibility to change in the quarter to the end of June 2022 compared to the current quarter?”

The term Overall Employment Prospects used in this survey is the result of subtracting the percentage of employers who expect an increase in their human resources from the percentage of employers who expect a decrease. This results in a net balance (either positive or negative) of the employment prospects. The data have been seasonally adjusted to better reflect the reality of the planned recruitments. These adjustments smooth out the impact of seasonal fluctuations, which occur at the same times each year. Custom data is therefore more representative in the long run. The data are not seasonally adjusted for Portugal.