Strong hiring optimism is set to continue into the second quarter of 2022, according to the Q2 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.

The survey polled 41,000 employers across 40 countries. ManpowerGroup’s survey data was collected in January 2022, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

ManpowerGroup’s survey also found that employers in 36 of 40 countries report stronger hiring intentions than this time last year with greatest demand in IT, Finance, and Manufacturing. Demand for skilled workers remains at record highs as employers seek to attract and retain the ‘best, diverse’ talent as employers embrace the post-pandemic era.

“Labor markets around the world are looking strong for Q2, with hiring outlooks back at pre-pandemic levels in most countries,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chairman & CEO. “Any impact of the Ukraine crisis is not reflected in employer hiring intentions. While Poland and neighboring countries are dealing with the humanitarian crisis, we must be poised to help resettlement and employment efforts for refugees, adapting roles and requirements to fill vacancies and create new opportunities.”

Positive employment outlooks were reported by employers in 39 of 40 countries.

Global Hiring Plans by Region

Across the Asia Pacific region, all seven countries and territories employers report positive and improved hiring intentions for the next three months.

The strongest hiring plans are reported in India (+38%) Australia (+28%) and China (+28%), while the weakest hiring plans are expected in Japan (+6%), Taiwan (+7%) and Hong Kong (+9%). Hiring sentiment strengthens in China and Singapore compared to Q1 and weakens in Japan, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Hong Kong.

In the EMEA region, employers report positive hiring intentions in 22 of 23 countries during the next three months. The only negative outlook is reported by employers in Greece.

The strongest hiring plans were reported in Sweden (+38%), Netherlands (+36%) and Belgium (+34%); weakest in Greece (-2%), Poland (-5%) and Romania (-7%).

Year-over-year hiring sentiment improves in 20 and declined in only three countries:Greece, Poland, and Romania.

In France and Germany, Paris (+25%) and Munich (+33%) report some of the most optimistic city outlooks in the region, driven by employers in IT and Finance.

In North America, both US (+35%) and Canada (+37%) report strong hiring levels for Q2 2022. Employers in Canada report a slightly stronger outlook than last quarter (+2%), while the US shows a small decline for the second quarter (-6%). Hiring managers in both countries expect hiring to be significantly stronger compared to intentions year-over-year. This is 27% in Canada and 16% in the US.

Meanwhile, positive hiring intentions are forecast for all eight countries in South and Central America during Q2 2022. The strongest hiring plans are reported in Brazil (+40) then Colombia (+38%) with the weakest in Argentina. Compared with the previous quarter, seven countries see intentions weaken, while Panama shows a small increase (+2%). The outlook in the region has improved 40 points when compared with the previous year, and 22 points since last quarter.

Across all countries, large organisations (35%) report bullish hiring intentions, leading the charge in the economic global recovery.

Worldwide, digital roles continue to drive most demand globally as IT & Technology reported the strongest outlook (+40%), followed by Banking, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (+31%) and Manufacturing (+31%).

Prising said, “At ManpowerGroup we are working fast to leverage our experience integrating refugees into labour markets from other countries, for example from Syria to Germany, Afghanistan to US- and to adapt and scale reskilling and upskilling programs specifically targeted to this population. Now is the time for collaboration between employers and governments to make it as fast and simple as possible to integrate refugees into the workforce so they can earn a living, contribute to society, and most importantly feel welcomed in their new surroundings.”

Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ManpowerGroup sold its Russian business.