Positive outlook for jobs

Employer hiring intentions for the UK manufacturing look encouraging, according to the latest figures from employment specialist Manpower. Compared to the same quarter last year and the last quarter of this year, figures for Q3 2003 are up slightly. The Manpower Employment Outlook survey predicts that, for July through to September this year, the balance of employers looking to take on more staff (the Net Employment Outlook) for the manufacturing sector is +14%. This is a 6% increase on last quarter and a 7% increase from the same quarter last year. Tony Howard, MD at Manpower commented: “Our historical data shows that the manufacturing sector is traditionally a very volatile sector for jobs. This is the first time that the net job outlook has been above the national average in the last five years.” He added that the moderate increase in employment intentions can be attributed to certain key manufacturing sub-sectors, including food and beverage, textiles and automotive. To put some of this into perspective, the overall national average for employment prospects for the quarter ahead across 11 regions and eight industry sectors is +13%, 1% below manufacturing. Transport, storage and communications is at the bottom of the league table with a net balance of –5%. DP