Want a job? Move to Gauteng
New research finds that South African employers’ hiring plans for the third quarter remain rather bleak, with only Gauteng Province showing any real positive outlook for the period.
This is according to findings from the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the third quarter 2013, which was conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 750 employers in South Africa.
According to staffing solutions provider, Manpower, 8% of employers expect to increase staffing levels, 9% forecast a decrease, while 81% anticipate no change, with the resulting net employment outlook at -1%.
“Once the data is adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the Outlook stands at 0%,” Manpower said.
However, quarter-over-quarter, hiring prospects weakened by 3 percentage points, and the Outlook declines by 5 percentage points year-over-year.
Regional comparisons
In regional comparisons, Employers anticipate payroll gains in two of the five regions during 3Q 2013, with Net Employment Outlooks standing at +4% and +1% in Gauteng and Free State, respectively.
However, employers report subdued hiring prospects in Western Cape, with an Outlook of -2%, and in both Eastern Cape and Kwazulu Natal, where Outlooks stand at -1%.
Quarter-over-quarter, employer hiring intentions weaken by 6 percentage points in Eastern Cape and by 2 percentage points in Western Cape.
Meanwhile, Gauteng employers report a 5 percentage point outlook improvement.
Elsewhere, the Kwazulu Natal Outlook remains relatively stable and hiring prospects are unchanged in Free State.
Based on unadjusted survey data, employers report negative Outlooks in four of the five regions, with the weakest hiring prospects evident in Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
Hiring intentions decline in three regions quarter-over-quarter and four regions year-over-year.
Sector comparisons
Employers in five of the 10 industry sectors expect to trim payrolls during 3Q 2013. The weakest hiring prospects are reported in the Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry & Fishing sector and the Restaurants & Hotels sector, with Net Employment Outlooks of -8% and -7%, respectively.
Muted hiring plans are also reported in the Manufacturing sector, with an Outlook of -4%, and in the Transport, Storage & Communication sector, where the Outlook is -3%.
However, employers in four sectors expect to increase staffing levels, most notably in the Mining & Quarrying sector and the Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services sector, where Outlooks stand at +8% and +5%, respectively.
Global outlook
Manpower Group interviewed nearly 66,000 hiring managers across 42 countries and territories to measure employer hiring expectations.
The staffing group said that emerging markets again headed the pack with employers in Taiwan, Brazil, Panama, Peru and Turkey reporting the strongest hiring expectations globally.
The weakest markets for job seekers are expected in Italy, Ireland and Spain.
Employers in 31 countries and territories surveyed said they plan to boost payrolls in the coming quarter, compared with 32 of 42 in Q2.
Hiring optimism strengthens quarter-over-quarter in 17 countries and territories but weaken in 21. When compared with one year ago at this time, outlooks improve in 14 countries and territories but decline in 26.
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