This article is from page 68 of the 2008-04-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 68 JPG
MUNSTER’S employment outlook is holding strong according to the latest figures from workforce management solutions, Manpower Ireland.
The survey shows that 11 per cent of Munster employers are predicting they will hire more staff in the com- ing quarter. This is eight per cent up in quarter Over-quarter-results but a decrease of 11 per cent on last year’s JURA Koe
Construction industry employers anticipate an optimistic quarter-over- quarter improvement in hiring activ-
ity with an eight per cent increase during the second quarter of the year, representing a slight decline of three per cent on last year’s figures.
Conducted quarterly, the Man- power Employment Outlook Survey measures employers’ intentions to increase or decrease their workforces and gathers data from 55,199 employ- ers across the world each quarter.
Regional employment is expected to be strongest in Ulster and Mun- ster, both of which recorded an opti- mistic employment outlook of 12 per cent and 11 per cent respectively for the second quarter of the year.
The pharmaceutical industry re- corded the strongest hiring outlook of 21 per cent followed by employers in the transport, storage and commu- nication sector, who are predicting a hiring outlook of 18 per cent over the next three months.
Manpower Ireland Managing Di- rector Jason Kennedy said the results were reassuring for the Irish economy as a whole. In spite of many warnings and gloomy forecasts the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which speaks to employers directly, has shown that many employers are feel- ing positive about the future growth
of their companies.
Even in the construction industry which has been the focus of much controversy in the last six months, eight per cent of all employers are planning on hiring more staff in the coming quarter.
The percentage of employers ex- pecting to reduce staff in the coming months is in line with the average from previous quarters. This suggests that while the rate of job creation has dropped this will be balanced against the fact that employers are not reduc- ing their respective workforces to any greater extent than before.