The Global Snapshot project from the multi-national recruitment firm, Antal International, asked 12,875 companies in major markets such as western and eastern Europe, Africa, India, China and the USA whether they were currently hiring at professional and managerial level. It then 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.
Current hiring levels across the globe were up slightly with 52% of respondents recruiting at professional and managerial level in comparison to 50% in February.
And 52% was also the percentage of organisations which intended to hire in the coming quarter. The rate of attrition was slightly up from 16% in February to 17% in June and this was expected to remain stable over the next three months.
In western Europe the highest current hiring levels were in the UK (61%), France (59%) and Belgium (55%).
The lowest levels recorded were in Portugal at 28% and Austria with just 19%. The highest recruiting levels in eastern Europe and Eurasia were recorded in Turkey (71%), Russia (66%) and Slovakia (58%). The lowest was recorded in Hungary where 43% were taking on staff at professional and managerial level. However this was a marked improvement in the country's performance in February when only 30% were hiring, reflecting the continuing strength of the region as a whole.
Despite recent unrest in the Middle East, the overall employment situation for professionals and managers has improved since the last Snapshot. Current levels of hiring have exceeded the expectations of February when only 46% of businesses intended to hire - 67% of companies are actually hiring now.
Africa's most high profile economy, South Africa, hiring levels are down by 10% on last quarter although the percentage of businesses shedding staff has also dropped by 6% to just 11% and is set to fall to 8% in the next three months. The Philippines recorded the highest levels of hiring activity in Asia with a staggering 98% of respondents recruiting. China scored 70% and India 69%. The lowest level of hiring was in Singapore where only 29% of organisations were hiring professionals or managers. And on the other side of the Atlantic, the highest levels of hiring activity were recorded in Latin America - Argentina (73%) and Brazil (67%).
Hiring activity is down in Australia from 79% in February to 61% now, although the percentage of businesses shedding staff remains relatively low at just 24%. looking ahead, the most active region in the coming quarter looks set to be the Middle East where 68% of organisations surveyed planned to take on professional or managerial staff. The quietest is likely to be Western Europe where only 39% of businesses intend to increase headcount. The busiest sectors around the globe in the next three months look likely to be healthcare, services, the legal profession, social media consultancy, IT hardware and software.
Antal's CEO and chairman, Tony Goodwin, said: "The last Antal International Global Snapshot indicated a long-anticipated return to stability in global markets. This edition of the survey confirms that stability.
"The overall results are almost exactly those predicted by the last report with 52% of organisations around the world taking on professional and managerial staff and only 17% reducing headcounts." "However, while in February the Americas had overtaken Asia-Pacific as the area with the greatest demand for professionals and managers, the situation is now reversed with 64% of businesses now hiring across the region. It's a clear example of the continuing oscillation of economic power between the two superpowers."
