STABLE ENVIROMENT ON THE LABOUR MARKET
Prague, 13th June 2023 – Czech organizations anticipate an active hiring environment during Q3 2023 with a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 16 percentage points. Compared to the second quarter of 2023, Czech hiring managers anticipate the NEO to strengthen by 1 percentage point but worsen by 2 points compared to this time last year. The Czech Republic ranks in the bottom half globally for its employment expectations, 12 points below the global average.
The Czech employment outlook remains steady since last quarter, perhaps due to increased feelings of security as the country plans to invest more in defense and oil from Kazakhstan, decreasing its reliance on Russia. Increased NATO drills may also increase employers’ sense of safety, allowing their employment expectations to remain stable.
„Czech organizations anticipate an active hiring environment during Q3 2023 with a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 16 percentage points. Compared to the second quarter of 2023, Czech hiring managers anticipate the NEO to strengthen by 1 percentage point but worsen by 2 points compared to this time last year. The Czech Republic ranks in the bottom half globally for its employment expectations, 12 points below the global average,” said Jaroslava Rezlerová, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup Czech Republic.
Industry sector comparisons
The NEO in all 9 Czech sectors shows organizations expect to increase staffing levels from July to September 2023. Compared to the previous quarter, hiring paces have strengthened in 5 of 9 sectors and weakened in 4 sectors. Looking back to this time last year, job markets have weakened in 7 of 8 sectors for which we have data and strengthened in one sector.
The Czech Republic’s most competitive sector is Financials & Real Estate with an employment outlook of 45, increasing by 11 percentage points since last quarter, but falling by 11 percentage point since this time last year.
The Czech sector with the largest growth in expectations since last quarter is Communication Services with an increase of 32 percentage points. In fact, the Czech Republic ranks second globally for the Communication Services sector’s quarterly increase, beating the 41-country average quarterly increase by 40 points. Additionally, this quarter is the highest NEO recorded in the Czech Transport, Logistics & Automotive sector for 4 years, going back to Q3 2019 when it was 21.
Regional comparisons
Czech organizations in all 3 regions expect increasing staffing levels in the next quarter. Since last quarter, hiring markets have strengthened in 2 of 3 regions and weakened in one. However, looking back to a year ago, staffing climates have weakened in 2 of 3 regions and strengthened in one.
The most competitive region in the Czech Republic is the Prague region with a NEO of 21, rising by 4 percentage points since the previous quarter but falling by 1 percentage point since this time last year.
Organization Size Comparisons
All 4 organization sizes expect increasing staffing levels in the upcoming quarter. Since last quarter, hiring climates have strengthened in 2 of 4 organization sizes, and weakened in 2 organization sizes. Looking back to this quarter last year, staffing environments have weakened in 3 of 4 organization sizes and strengthened in one.
Czech employers in medium organizations with 50–249 employees are the most optimistic with a NEO of 20, rising by 11 percentage point since the previous quarter, and 1 percentage point since this time last year. These medium organizations report the greatest increase in expectations since last quarter. Czech Republic ranks fourth globally for medium organizations’ quarterly increase, outperforming the 41-country average quarterly increase by 6 points.
Global Overview
ManpowerGroup surveyed 38,849 employers in 41 countries and territories to measure hiring expectations from July to September in the third quarter of 2023. The survey was conducted while the economic downturn, including high inflation and increasing cost of living, were still pressing concerns for many employees and organizations. Additionally, the Ukraine-Russia conflict has been ongoing for about 14 months at the time of the survey, continuing to affect employment expectations especially in Europe.
In Q3 2023, employers expect to increase staffing levels at a faster rate than last quarter, as the seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook (NEO) rose to 28. The global outlook increased by 5 points since last quarter, and most countries reported moderate increases compared to Q2 2023. However, the employment outlook is still lower by 4 percentage points since this time last year, suppressed by the ongoing economic downturn. Despite these challenges, many employers cited that their organizations continued to expand, and have an increased demand for new talent.
The South and Central America region includes countries with the lowest and the highest employment expectations for the upcoming quarter. Costa Rica (43) reports the highest employment outlook for the third quarter of 2023, while Argentina and its volatile economy reports the weakest expectations. Overall, organizations still think the South and Central America region has great business potential, especially as companies like Tesla open manufacturing locations in the region as an alternative to China, and Asian organizations also see investment opportunities to open manufacturing plants closer to the US.
About the Survey
This survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. The Czech Republic is one of 41 countries and territories participating in the quarterly measurement of employer hiring intentions. The survey for Quarter 4 2022 was conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 510 employers in the Czech Republic and asking the same question: “How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the three months to the end of December 2022 as compared to the current quarter?”.
More information available on www.manpowergroup.cz
