Media Release
Manpower, Level 22, Darling Park 2, 201 Sussex Street Sydney. NSW Australia 2000
Manpower Employment Outlook Survey
Under embargo until 0:01, 10th June 2008 Local Time
Hiring confidence in the Wholesale & Retail sectors
declines to lowest levels since late 2006.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today, indicates the
employment prospects for job seekers in the Wholesale and Retail sector may well
be softer than they have been for the past two years as business leaders intend to
hire less new staff.
The survey, which was part of a broader survey of 2,658 employers across Australia,
revealed that the majority of employers in this sector are intending to hold the line on
their staff levels for the next quarter. The levels of demand are considerably lower
than the past 24 months, and in fact have dropped back to the same lower levels
reported at the end of 2006.
The Wholesale & Retail sector’s employment market shows a considerably softening
in hiring intention in the July – September quarter of 2008, with a Net Employment
Outlook of +15% compared to +22% in the last quarter, a decline of 7 percentage
points. This is also 10 points below the peak of April-June 2007, which saw a Net
Employment Outlook of +25% for the sector.
According to Stephen Hinch, General Manager Marketing & Communications,
Manpower, Australia and New Zealand, “This considerable softening in intention to
hire new staff may not be a signal for a slow down in net growth. The continuing
softening in hiring intentions may well be indicating a decline in pent up demand that
was created by internal mobility together with supply shortages”.
“This softer demand may also be an early indicator of the disaggregation of the
labour markets as some industries continue to grow from strength to strength while
others such as Finance as well as Wholesale & Retail begin to tighten and perhaps
shrink as consumer confidence tightens. Business leaders must continue to rethink
their strategies not only to attract but more importantly to retain the right talent, as
staff that you lose today may well need replacing tomorrow.” Hinch said.
“There has been a general even spread of growth across all industries over the past
few years only constrained by labour supply, but as the economy tends to shift we
may well see a disaggregation where some industries such as Wholesale & Retail
contract while other industries continue to grow. The net result of this disaggregation
could see as many as 150,000 people losing their jobs over the next 12 to 18
months, but only a slight up swing in unemployment as those with transferable skills
can move to the growth sectors”. Hinch noted.
-End-
For further information please contact
Stephen Hinch, Phone – 02 9263 8644, Mobile – 0488 495 270, shinch@manpower.com.au
- Continued -
Manpower, Level 22, Darling Park 2, 201 Sussex Street Sydney. NSW Australia 2000
Manpower Fact Sheet
The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on the 9th of September
2008 to report hiring expectations for the third quarter of 2008. The Manpower Employment
Outlook Survey is available free of charge to the public through their local Manpower
representative in participating countries. You can download a copy of the Australian report in
Note to Editors
Full survey results for each of the 32 countries and territories included in this quarter’s survey,
plus regional and global comparisons, can be found in the Manpower Press Room at
to be downloaded for use in publication or broadcast from the Manpower website at
Note that in Quarter 2 of 2008, the survey adopted the TRAMO-SEATS model for seasonal
adjustment of data. As a result, you may notice some seasonally adjusted data points change
slightly from previous reports. This model is recommended by the Eurostat department of the
European Union and the European Central Bank and is widely used internationally.
About the Survey
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers’
intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next
quarter. It is the most extensive forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in its size,
scope, longevity and area of focus. The Survey has been running for more than 45 years and
is one of the most trusted surveys of employment activity in the world. The Manpower
Employment Outlook Survey is based on interviews with more than 55,000 public and private
employers worldwide and is considered a highly respected economic indicator.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is currently available for 32 countries and
territories: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czech
Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Spain,
South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The
program began in the United States and Canada in 1962, and the United Kingdom was added
in 1966. Mexico and Ireland launched the survey in 2002, and 13 additional countries were
added to the program in 2003. New Zealand joined the program in 2004, China, India,
Switzerland and Taiwan were added in 2005, and Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica and South
Africa joined in 2006. The Czech Republic, Greece, Guatemala, Poland and Romania joined
in 2008. For more information, visit the Manpower Inc. website at www.manpower.com and
enter the Research Centre.
About Manpower Inc.
Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) is a world leader in the employment services industry; creating
and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2008, the $21 billion company offers employers a range of
services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and
contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement;
outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of 4,500 offices in 80 countries
and territories enables the company to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year,
including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's
largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower's work is on raising productivity
through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling
clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five
brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management.
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