Employment growth looks set to continue with eight out of nine sectors surveyed in the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey planning to recruit over the next three months.
Financial services looks strong with employers in this sector reporting their highest third-quarter hiring intentions since 1998.
Over-all in the UK a net of 14% of employers plan to recruit in the third quarter – made up of 20% who want to increase and 6% who intend to decrease their staffing levels.
Employers in the Transport and Communications, Finance and Business Services, Construction and Manufacturing sectors have all reported recruitment plans above the national average.
However, the Hotel and Retail sector - often seen as a good indicator of consumer confidence - has declined by six percentage points over the last quarter to 10%.
Looking at recruitment geographically, employers in eleven of the twelve regions surveyed intend to take on more staff for the quarter ahead.
Employers in East Anglia were the most optimistic with those in the West Midlands and the North West being the least optimistic.
* The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey asked over 35,000 public and private sector employers in 19 countries to forecast hiring patterns for the period July to September 2004. Full details of the survey are available at the Manpower UK website.
