(Finance) – The investigation “Manpower Group Employment Outlook Survey” on perspectives employment for the first quarter of the year it indicates how Italian employers forecast hiring growing, with a net forecast of occupation (NEO – Net Employment Outlook) by +10%, net of seasonal adjustments. While positive, the forecasts show a drop in confidence both compared to the October-December 2022 quarter, where they amounted to +13%, and compared to the first quarter of the just ended year, in which the hiring prospects had reached the record value of +29%, following the post-pandemic rebound. The most optimistic are employers in the energy sector (+25%), information technology (+20%) and industry (+15%). ManpowerGroup surveyed more than 38,000 companies in 41 countries and territories to track hiring intentions for Q1 2023.
“Italian employers show strong resilience in the face of the difficult international economic situation, continuing to believe in the future and investing in new hires, albeit to a lesser extent than in the last quarter of 2022”, he comments Anna Jonfriddo, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup Italy. “The demand for technological and specialized figures remains high. In particular, the peculiar moment of the energy markets will require an important injection of talent in the Italian companies of the sector, also under the push of the funds of the PNRR dedicated to it, making it the driving sector of the quarter that has just begun”.
In the first quarter of the year, employers of all four Italian macro areas plan to increase their headcount. In particular the companies of the northwest they are even more optimistic now than in the previous period analysed: recruitment prospects at +12%, while they were +9% for the last quarter of 2022. Employers in the rest of the country are more cautious: forecasts at +9 % for the North East and +8% for the South and the Islands and a prospect of substantial stability for the Center with +3%.
the sector ofpower expects +25% of hiring between January and March. It follows closely that of IT with +20%. The outlook is also positive forIndustry (+15%), for Consumer Goods and services (+12%) and for Finance and Real Estate (+11%). The sector of goods is stable Communication serviceswhile a slight decline is expected for Healthcare and Life Sciences (-1%). The MEOS research also shows widespread concern about the prospects for the quarter in the Transport, Logistics and Automotive sector, which records a -17% of hiring forecasts.
The best employment prospects are provided by big companies (+12%), and from small companies with +11%. The outlook for the companies is also positive medium companies (+9%), while they will remain more or less stable for micro companies (+2%). Almost all organizations expect a declining employment climate compared to the end of last year: compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, in fact, the decline is -7% for large companies, -6% for micro, -5% for middle school. Only small companies go against the trend and improve forecasts by 5% compared to the previous quarter.
While the impact of a potential recession and risinginflation Quarterly and year-over-year hiring prospects dampen, employers continue to look for new talent, posting a net employment forecast of +23% globally. The best hiring intentions for the coming quarter are in the region North America (+31%) and in South and Central America (+28%), with the best forecasts for Panama (+39%) and Costa Rica (+35%). Employers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) expect hirings to grow (+18%), but this is also the only region with countries reporting negative forecast data: Hungary (-8%) and Poland (-2%). Globally, digital roles (IT, Technology, Telecommunications, Communications and Media) continue to lead demand (35%), followed by Banking, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (+28%) and Energy ( +26%).