Manpower Employment Outlook Survey 2024 Q4
In the fourth quarter of 2024, 35% of domestic employers plan to expand their current workforce, while 18% anticipate a reduction. Similar optimism among market players was last observed in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Employment Outlook Survey released today by Manpower Hungary.
The ManpowerGroup conducted its quarterly survey across 42 countries, involving more than 40,000 employers. In Hungary, a representative sample of 525 employers was surveyed about their hiring intentions for the fourth quarter of 2024.
The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook (NEO) derived from the responses reached an average of +17%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the previous quarter and shows a 5 percentage point increase year-over-year. While 35% of companies plan to increase their workforce, a higher-than-average 44% of companies expect to maintain their current staffing levels, and the proportion of uncertain respondents has decreased to 3%.
"The expectations for the last quarter indicate growing optimism among domestic businesses," said Tamás Fehér, Managing Director of Manpower for Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia. "This could result in an acceleration of the current cautious increase in employment in national statistics by the end of the year. However, the positive outlook is not uniform: companies in the automotive industry, for example, continue to anticipate a downturn, and geographically, the South Transdanubia region remains gloomy with business prospects expected to stay bleak until the end of the year."
The 17% hiring increase is an average value, with significant regional differences. Employer expectations are above the national average in the Northern Great Plain (NEO: +33%) and Budapest (+26%). In other regions, much smaller increases are expected, and South Transdanubia (-21%) stands out as a negative exception, with far more companies forecasting layoffs than hiring.
The proportion of those planning to increase their workforce is highest among companies with 10-50 and over 1,000 employees (NEO: 26-27%). In other size categories, hiring expectations are below average, and among companies employing 250-1,000 people, respondents mainly anticipate stagnation.
Significant differences can also be observed across various sectors. Moderate workforce reductions are expected in the logistics and automotive (NEO: -7%), as well as the energy and utilities (-4%) sectors. However, the largest workforce growth is anticipated in communications services (+32%), information technology (+30%), and the finance and real estate (+28%) sectors. Growth is expected to be around average in the basic materials and manufacturing (+19%) and healthcare and life sciences (+17%) sectors. The modest revival of consumer spending is reflected in the relatively lower expectations in the consumer goods and services (+12%) sector.
Compared to the previous quarter, a slight improvement in labor market prospects is also observed internationally. The index currently stands at a very high 25%, which is 3 percentage points above the previous quarter's level. No decline is expected in any of the 42 countries surveyed, but due to economic difficulties, Argentina (+4%), Chile (+8%), and Hong Kong (+8%) can only expect slow growth, and the same is true for Israel (+8%) due to political reasons. In Europe, expectations are slightly below the global average, with the widest plans for workforce expansion in Switzerland (NEO: +32%), the Netherlands (+30%), and Ireland (+28%). Outside Europe, the highest employment growth is expected in India (+37%), Costa Rica (+36%), the USA (+34%), and Brazil (+32%).
In the survey's variable composition section, respondents were asked about measures they are taking to help retain their workforce. Responses from domestic companies revealed that the most common initiative (49%) is improving work-life balance. 38% are creating more career advancement opportunities for their employees. Other popular methods include providing the latest technological tools (34%), increasing management's supportive attitude through training (33%), and reducing employees' stress factors (32%).
Operating according to an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy involves significant employer decisions. Over the next 12 months, 46% of the surveyed companies plan to implement their ESG strategy by retraining their existing experts, 40% plan to recruit new experts, and 22% are considering hiring external consultants.
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