Hiring confidence is strongest in India, Japan, Taiwan, Colombia and Guatemala for the second quarter of 2016, while the weakest hiring forecasts are being reported in Brazil, France and Italy. This is according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, released today by ManpowerGroup.

Faced with the slowdown in China and ongoing turmoil in commodity markets, most employers across the globe appear to be taking the measured approach of adding staff only when needed.

Of the more than 58,000 employers interviewed globally, 39 of 42 countries and territories anticipate increasing their staffing levels in Q2 2016. Compared to Q1 2016, hiring prospects strengthen in 8 of 42 countries and territories, and decline in 22. Compared with last year at this time, outlooks improve in 12 countries and territories, weaken in 23 and are unchanged in 7.

“We believe parts of the global economy – including some countries in Asia and Latin America – will continue to experience softening as the result of demographic and economic influences,” said Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO, ManpowerGroup.

“Increasing globalization and technological progress are having a transformative impact on societies, companies and workers, and changing the way work gets done. In a labour market increasingly dictated by skills, ‘learnability’ – the ability to grow and adapt skill sets – is becoming a key determinant of success for both businesses and individuals.”

Global Hiring Plans by Region

• In the EMEA region, employers in Bulgaria report the most optimistic second-quarter hiring intentions. However, talent demand remains restrained in Germany where the forecast dips to its least optimistic level in more than two years, while French employers report the weakest hiring plans, and the region’s only negative forecast.
• In the Asia Pacific region, employers in India report the most optimistic regional and global hiring plans for the third consecutive quarter, while the region’s least favourable hiring intentions are reported by Australian employers. Hiring plans in China decline in comparison to both the prior quarter and Quarter 2 of 2015. Outlooks are positive in all industry sectors and regions, but are among the weakest reported in the history of the survey.

See: Asia Pacific Hiring Outlook for 2016: Noteworthy Facts for Employers

• In the Americas region, employers in Colombia, Guatemala and the U.S. report the most optimistic second-quarter hiring plans, while employers in Brazil report an overall decline in payrolls as well as the weakest hiring plans in the region and across the globe.

Activity in Japan’s labour market is expected to remain strong through the end of June. Forecasts indicate that opportunities for job seekers in Japan will remain solid in most industry sectors and regions, as nearly a third of the country’s employers indicate they have jobs to fill. However, efforts to fill positions continue to be hampered by the challenge of a rapidly shrinking workforce.

Confidence among Taiwan’s employers is expected to be similarly strong. However, the survey indicates the hiring pace will slow for the fourth consecutive quarter. A growing dependence on China in this export-driven market may be discouraging employers from hiring at levels similar to the last several years, and the forecast dips to its least optimistic level since Quarter 4 2009. Hong Kong’s hiring climate continues to be favourable and job growth has remained relatively stable for eight consecutive quarters, buoyed by a consistently strong services sector forecast.

A general slowdown is evident across much of the rest of the region. Outlooks decline by varying margins in quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year comparisons in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Australia’s Net Employment Outlook is the weakest in two and a half years.

In addition to subdued job growth projections, uncertainty is evidently on the increase as nearly half of the employers surveyed indicate they simply don’t know what their second-quarter hiring plans will be.

Also read: Hiring Outlook for 2016 in India